The Mother of Kindness
by Iluvem'moody
Summary: Once upon a time, a mother had lost her son. He had disappeared without a trace. Several years later, her hike up the local mountain of her new hometown leads her on a journey that begins where his had ended. Hopefully, she will find her son and set him free. Hopefully... If she can set herself free as well...
1. Chapter 1

_It might not be the right time…_

 **Something about Us –** Daft Punk

Chapter One: The Prologue

There weren't many things I could recall from that time… It was hazy at best. The emotional turmoil overrode any details I would have remembered in a more rational, sane state of mind.

I remembered the feeling of despair that had washed over me as I recalled my son's very last words to me.

~ _Mommy, I'm going to Nora's! We're going to bake some cupcakes! I'm gonna learn all kinds of things and be a great chef like Daddy!~_

He was eight years old when he had disappeared. He was supposed to be at his friend's house. They lived just a few houses down from us on the very same street. I could see their house from my living room window. I remember standing on the front porch, watching as he walked down the street toward his friend's house and walking up their driveway. He had turned to look back at me and waved at me, our signal that he was fine and safe…

I had turned away and that was the last I had ever seen of him.

Nora's parents had not seen him that day. He never made it to their porch.

How could they not have seen him? He had been right there on their driveway…

Needless to say, he was gone.

The day he disappeared, he had been wearing his favorite apron that had still been stained with the marinara sauce from his last venture with his Daddy to learn how to cook spaghetti. He had been so proud that he did not want me to wash it no matter how many times I had tried to sneak it into the washing machine. He had been wearing his favorite green shirt with a giraffe embroidered on the right breast and a pair of khaki shorts with well worn white sneakers. He also had with him a small burnt pan that had belonged to his Daddy- he kept it with him everyday to practice his pan flipping, just in case his Daddy wanted him to flip eggs or pancakes…

An Amber Alert had been given state wide the moment the twenty four hour mark had been reached. As the days passed, blame was thrown every which way as to who was responsible for the disappearance of my son. It fell amongst a group of us- from Nora's parents, to any random stranger who may have been in the area at the time. However, it had mostly fallen on me…

How could I have let my son walk alone up the street? Why would any mother allow their child to willingly go anywhere by themselves, even if it was just a few houses down?

Why was I such a bad mother?

Why?

Why…

After the disappearance of my son, I had lost all sense of myself. Life no longer held any joy or hope. Things had become strained between my husband and myself. He blamed me for the loss of our son. I let him and accepted the blame. It was easier that way for everyone… It's always easy when there is someone to blame…

It wasn't long before we had divorced.

I had quit my job and moved for away from the town and the state my son had been born in.

I was lost and mostly alone.

I had no one but my little brother and his girlfriend, who took pity on me and allowed me to room with them in their small apartment. They were the only lights of my life at that time. I had to survive, if only not to be a burden to my brother. I had gotten an office job, something simple but consistent, at the college my brother worked security for. I had worked everyday until out combined incomes was able to help move us all out of that small apartment and into a three bedroom home.

I had cosigned on everything, considering my credit was better than the both of them combined. They were both too young to have had much time to build such a credit line and I was more than willing to share what good credit I had built with them.

What did I care? I had failed my son…

At least I would not fail my baby brother.

I had nothing else in life to live for…

I don't know how much time had passed. The days tend to bleed one into the next when you care so little for time. The seasons had changed and the years had rolled by…

My baby brother and his girlfriend had become husband and wife. I signed my portion of the three bedroom home completely under their name and had moved out. I had found a tiny, one bedroom home for rent not too far from them…

Soon, they were expecting their first child…

I tried to be happy for them. I tried to be supportive…

However, the memories were still so fresh of my one and only child that I had lost. I could not find the love for this child yet to be and so I distanced myself from my only remaining family…

I found that I was spending more and more time alone, hiking through the local trails of the mountain that gave my current hometown some fame. It was a famous mountain if only for that fact that it had a legend attached to it concerning that any who traveled up this mountain would disappear and never return… I was not one for an old wife's tales but I could respect the truth behind a legend. I only stayed within the well traveled areas to get to to the one place I called my own…

It was a field of gold flowers that bloomed each spring.

It was located off a well hidden trail within the forest that rested along the base of the mountain itself. Since no trace of my son had been found, we had no grave for him. Instead we each had a memorial for him…

His father had made a memorial in his hometown...

My memorial was done here in this field of golden flowers…

I had been coming here more and more as of late, finding solace within these gentle yellow blooms…

I loved this place…

It was the only time I had felt truly at peace since my son had disappeared…

It was a find spring day… The day when everything I had ever known in my dead world would change…

The day when I would discover where my kindhearted son had disappeared to… and why...


	2. Chapter 2

_Last night…_

 _I had a dream about you…_

 **Digital Love** – Daft Punk

Chapter Two: The Beginning

The mountain had felt different that day.

There was this hush that seemed to fall across the forest as I traveled the trails to my special field of golden flowers.

It was a quiet that made me aware of everything surrounding me. I had been expecting such a quiet for some time after all. There was a part of me that wondered when my mind would finally snap from the grief that had been a constant basis for my current existence. I guess today was the day…

The weather that day was too clear and too perfect.

When I had made the hike up to my field of golden flowers, a feeling of uncertainty was hanging over me. I couldn't figure out why…

Things had gone as they normally had- I woke up in the morning, had my coffee and light breakfast. I spoke with my little brother and assured him that I was OK…

Yes, I was fine.

No, I could not come over today because I had plans to hike the trails…

I promised I would would be careful… I would call as soon as I got home…

Yet, despite my reassurances to my baby brother, there was something about today that felt off even to me…

I had my picnic basket with me, it was a constant since I had begun my hike through these trails. I had parked my car in the designated lot that was on the south entrance of the main trails I liked to hike. I didn't mind the distance I had to walk, I was just glad I was able to find the way to my field of golden flowers, no matter what…

It would take some time but the moment I found my field of golden flowers, I immediately began to relax. I would keep my picnic basket tucked within the crook of my right elbow and would march my way right to the edge of the field. It was here I would set up the picnic for two (though I only made enough food for one) and lay out the blanket followed by the picnic itself, my movements were meticulous and careful.

Years of the same…

Constantly lost in a memory…

Stuck in one moment in time…

I could never move forward, no matter how much I had tried and wished and prayed.

I resigned myself to such an existence…

Without the one, true, honest love of my life…

What was the purpose?

I sat down on the blanket, with my picnic of sandwiches and bottled water, and stared out to the field of the golden flowers I loved so much…

A rising breeze blew down from the mountain at that moment, bringing with it the clean smell of a particular soap and lotion…

I froze.

The smell of the soap and lotion were smells I had not come across in several years.

They were smells I had deliberately avoided in any way, shape or form…

It was the scent of my son.

It was my most favorite scent of him that my memory had to offer. One I had never thought I would smell out here in the middle of the wilderness…

Looking around, trying to find the source of the scent, my gaze had caught sight of something. There was something moving about the bushes and shrubs that lined this field and bordered the forest. I frowned lightly, my gaze trying to focus on the thing that flitted amongst the borders of the forest.

It might have been a boy or girl but I could not tell.

Their form seemed to be dancing between the shadows cast by the noon day sun. I could not tell if they were coming or going…

It wasn't until I had caught sight of a familiar head of curling brown hair and a green shirt that my heart nearly leapt out of my chest.

 _My son?_

"Sully?"

There was no rhyme or reason…

Maybe I had finally lost my mind.

Maybe the grief had finally overcame my mind and I was losing the very last bit of sanity I had left.

I was hallucinating the figure that was dancing on the edge of the forest that led further into the mountain trails…

Maybe I was too far gone for anyone to save me…

Yet, I knew in that moment, that wherever my son was…

He _needed_ me.

He was someplace where he could _not_ escape.

This was the sign I had been searching for so many years…

He was somewhere… crying for help…

 _I will find him…_

I got unsteadily to my feet and packed up the picnic I had brought with me. I tucked the blanket around the food and water bottles, tucked it tight around my smart phone and small pouch that held my belongings, before I latched it closed. I pulled the handle of the basket down to the crook of my right arm and faced the direction of the forest.

The hallucination of my baby boy had disappeared while I had been packing my basket up but I remembered where it had been dancing…

I took one step and then another…

Determination filled me.

Love drew me forward and into the depths of the mountain trails I had never dared to tread before now.

I was going to find my son…

No matter what.

-o-

I had never imagined the woods to be this deep before.

The trees had always seemed so thin when you looked at them from the safety of the fields. Yet now…

Deep within the trails…

I could tell there was something much more hanging about in the air. There was something I could not place…

I looked around the trails as I traversed them, taking one path and then another as I wound my way further up the mountain. The sun's light was not as bright in this part of the forest but it still tried to shine, its rays dappling here and there among the thick tree tops, shining down on the paths I walked.

I could make out the silhouette of the little boy dancing ahead of me.

I had thought I would make some leeway with him. I did all I could to keep up with him. He was such a tiny thing… How far could he go?

Every time I thought I would come close to him, he would disappear behind a tree or a shrub and reappear some ways ahead. I wanted to call out to him, to tell him to wait, but I hesitated.

There was a part of me that knew this was not really my son…

I was finally losing my mind…

I said nothing and just continued to follow.

It was leading me someplace. Be it to my son or to my death…

I kept climbing the trails, following this otherworldly hallucination like some sixth sense.

The sun was beginning to set by this time and the evening air was becoming cool. I had pulled on my favorite green hoodie by this time and struggled to fight down the shiver from the rising cold. The fading light was making it difficult to see and the irrational part of me was panicking.

 _I can't lose sight of Sully…_

The logical part of my mind knew that this hallucination was not really my son…

I was traveling these trails for hours before I knew I was lost.

The entire forest was nothing more than shadows and red hues from the setting sun and yet I did not want to give up…

Despite the missed calls from my brother.

I was about to reach into my basket to pull my phone out, trying to let my brother know I was all right…

My son danced on the path ahead of me.

I abandoned the idea of contacting my brother and followed the sight of my dancing son against my better judgment.

I followed the hallucination until it seemed to stop, its form wavering over the path ahead of me before completely fading away…

"Sully!" I cried out, my hand reaching out in a vain attempt to catch the incorporeal form of my son. "Sully, wait!"

I ran forward, ignoring the end of the path I was on, and crashing through the thick bushes and shrubs, trying to reach out to the last remnant of the ghost that was my son…

I kept running until I tripped over a large tree root that jutted up from the ground.

I fell down…

I didn't meet the hard ground.

I fell…

...and fell…

The darkness rushed over me and the rising screams from my throat were quickly blotted out by the sound of the rising wind...


	3. Chapter 3

_In this dream, I'm dancing right beside you..._

 **Digital Love** – Daft Punk

Chapter Three: The Smiling Flower

The painful landing to the bottom of whatever pit I had fallen into had knocked me out cold…

By the time I had come to, I was staring up at the dusky light of twilight. I could see a few stars twinkling down at me through the opening I had fallen down from. It looked very high up. How had I survived such a fall?

With a groan, I struggled to sit up, testing my limbs for any broken bones or misplaced joints. When I found everything to be in working order, I sat up further and took in my surroundings. From the limited light from the opening above, I seemed to be in some kind of cavern. I was resting on a bed of golden flowers, just like the ones from my field. I looked up once again, trying to see if there was a trail I could climb but the walls were jagged and there didn't seem to be any footholds one could grab onto without risk of falling to the jagged rocks directly below. It was a miracle I had landed on these flowers and not on those rocks.

Tearing my gaze away from the opening, I looked around for my picnic basket and found it lying a few feet away from me. Moving carefully, so as not to disturb the golden flowers, I crawled over the mound toward the basket and grabbed it. Surprisingly, when I opened the top to the basket, I found that the contents were essentially undisturbed. The sandwiches I had made was worse for wear but still salvageable, the two plastic bottles of water were somewhat dented but OK. My smart phone and beaded pouch were fine, a little tangled around the blanket but fine.

Feeling some measure of control over situation, I pulled out my smart phone and pressed the home button to turn the screen on. It was late in the evening and I had no signal down here in this pit. I had three quarters of life on the battery. I had my power cord and an external battery in my beaded pouch so I had about a day and half of life to my phone. I had food and water if I conserved it well to last me about a couple of days.

Stuffing everything but my phone back into the basket, I latched it closed and got to my feet. I brushed off the blades of grass and dirt from my jeans and pulled down the hem of my green hoodie. I pulled back the hood and brushed away a few frizzy curls that had fallen from my top knot from the fall. I didn't know what I was preparing myself for but I was preparing for anything at this point none the less. Following a hallucination of my son through forest trails and falling into a deep cavern was not what I would call the ideal situation but…

Here I was.

Taking my phone, I turned on the screen and scrolled through the touch panel to turn on the flashlight capability. The LED light broke through the darkness, the little white glow making things a little clearer. I moved the light around, studying my surroundings in further detail. The bed of golden flowers I had landed on were in the very center of this cavern, surrounded by grass the shade of emerald green. Further ahead of me, there seemed to be a well worn path in the dirt that led away from this spot and deeper into the cavern.

How strange…

This path looked as if it saw saw daily foot traffic. Perhaps this place was frequently visited? If so, I may just find a way out of here.

Regardless, I could not stay here. The hallucination of my son was no where to be found, maybe the fall had knocked some sense into me…

Deciding that going somewhere was better than staying here, I tucked my basket in the crook of my elbow and held my smart phone with the other, the white light shining the way. I took in a deep breath and walked forward..

-o-

The darkness of this cavern was broken only by the little white LED light from my phone. As I turned the light this way and that, I found that the walls of this part of the cavern were smooth, as if someone had spend years carving out this cavern to look like a corridor. The path continued on this way until I turned a corner and a light brighter than my LED broke through. Turning off the light to conserve the battery, I walked ahead with renewed vigor, hoping against hope that I had found the way out so soon.

When I finally reached the source of the light, it was to find nothing more than another, smaller cavern with a hole to the surface high above shedding light down. There was a smaller mound of grass in this place, no golden flowers to be seen. I looked up at the small hole and found the light of a half moon shining down through the opening and down towards these depths. I heaved a sigh and shook my head slightly in disappointment, of course this would be too easy if the exit was so close. I wondered how I was going to find a way out of here...

"Howdy!"

A cheerful voice broke through my troubled thoughts and I started in surprise, my gaze traveling about the small cavern. I tried in vain to find the source of the voice and it wasn't until my wandering eyes had looked down that I caught the sight of a smiling flower staring back up at me.

A smiling flower…

A… flower… was smiling up at me from the mound of green grass that had been empty just a moment before…

Why was there a flower smiling at me? If I had wondered if I had lost my mind before, this was the definitive proof I needed. There was no way this flower had actually said something to me. I blinked a few times, trying to see if it might disappear but it did not. It continued to smile up at me, its beetle black eyes studying me with a sort of manic gleam.

I was immediately on edge and could feel my muscles tensing in anticipation of something terrible to come. I don't know why but there was something about this flower that set my heart to pumping triple time. Something about it just… wasn't right. Even for a smiling flower.

"I'm Flowey," it continued it its squeaky voice, its black eyes never straying from mine. "Flowey the Flower!" It still had not disappeared and its squeaky voice grating my ears was enough to inform me my physical senses were not deceiving me. This flower was indeed smiling and talking to me in real time.

It studied me after it had introduced itself, its manic eyes sending a chill down my spine. I had not responded to its introduction and it did not seem to expect one in turn. It tilted its head and hummed to itself thoughtfully, "You're new to the Underground, aren't cha? Golly, you must be so confused..."

I held my ground though I was still wary of this flower. There was some part of me, deep inside, that knew that this creature was much more dangerous than it looked. I didn't know how I knew but I was not going to ignore my gut feeling.

"Someone oughta teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do..."

I took a step back as I felt a tug at my heart, a faint deep green glow emerging from my chest in response to whatever this creature was intending. I quickly shook my head and took another step back, not liking the pulling tug at my heart nor the green glow. This was not normal…

"No," I said as I moved away from the mound and quickly made my way around the smiling flower, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. "No, thank you. I have to find my son. I hope you find your friend. Goodbye."

It paused, a look of confusion on its face, and whatever it had been preparing to do suddenly stopped. The tug at my heart stopped and the green glow faded away…

"You're… not my friend…," it said, the tone of its voice implying that it had been expecting someone else to have emerged from that cavern with the mound of golden flowers. "Who… are you?"

I didn't answer it.

Instead, I kept walking forward, the light from this cavern fading with each step. I turned the light to my phone back on and continued to follow the path deeper into the cavern. I did not notice the sad look on the flower's face as it watched me leave it behind...


	4. Chapter 4

_The kind of feeling I waited so long…_

 **Digital Love** – Daft Punk

Chapter Four: The Caretaker

The next part of the cavern was something that looked out of a dungeon from a storybook. The walls were carved to look like bricks and the dirt path continued onward. There was a dim light that allowed me to see enough of my surroundings that I did not need the light from my smart phone, though where the source came from I could not say.

Turning off the light to my phone and placing it in my basket, I walked forward into this cavern and glanced around. It was a very large room and ahead of me there were a row of staircases on either side that led up to a second floor. There were a trail of red leaves that formed a rectangle in the middle of the room and further ahead of that there were a larger pile of red leaves where a sparking light hovered, seeming to twinkle with its own power.

 _Curious…_

"Oh my goodness!"

The sound of another, more feminine, voice broke through silence of this cavern and I was already on edge. I immediately brought my guard up, that same tugging feeling in my heart emerging once more. The deep green glow from before erupted from my chest and something insubstantial seemed to hover between me and the apparent threat. It looked like a barrier of some kind, a transparent green shield that looked to be protecting me…

"What the hell?" I muttered as I stumbled back in surprise, the blood draining from my face. What the hell was this? This had never happened to me before. What the hell was this light? This force?

The shock that swept through me quickly removed any inclination of defending myself from whatever threat that was happening to come across my way. The barrier wavered before completely fading away and the tug on my heart relaxed. I fell down to the ground in the same state of shock, the tears beginning to well up in my eyes. "What's happening to me?"

The sound of something falling to the ground with a heavy thump distracted me from my panic. I glanced up and caught sight of what looked to be a white humanoid goat/cow being. It was standing beside a fallen bucket of what looked like snails- a few of the snails had fallen free and were now crawling slowly away to freedom. The creature was dressed in what looked like purple and white robes that were adorned with some strange crest on the front. It was staring at me in surprise before it suddenly began to rush toward me. "Oh my dear, are you all right?"

The fear was still ripe and I tried to scurry away from the creature as it made its way toward me.

"Oh no. No, no, no," it said as it reached out to me, trying to calm me. "Don't be afraid my dear, I won't hurt you."

I slipped on the trail of red leaves and fell flat on my butt, my heart beating hard against my chest. "I-I don't know what's going on. What's happening to me?" I said without thinking, my tears now beginning to slip down my cheeks. "None of this feels right."

"Sh, sh," the creature shushed to me, trying to get me to relax. "It's all right my dear. You are safe now." It kneeled down beside me and reached out a white furred paw/hand to touch my shoulder. "You are safe..."

I don't know what it was about this creature but it had an aura of kindness and maternal love that seemed to radiate from its very being. For some odd ball reason, I feel I could trust this creature. I began to relax and I truly allowed myself to study this being. Despite its inhuman look, there was something very soft about it, feminine if one could describe it as such. It had small horns on the top of its head and its floppy ears reminded me so much of a goat's I could not help but relax more. This creature was not a threat… despite the small fangs I could see.

"Goodness, I was not expecting to find someone down here on my daily walks." It- she- paused and studied me closely, her eyes moving over me before settling on my own. "You are not a child," she stated. I could almost hear the disappointment in her voice but I was sure I must have been imagining it. Was she expecting a child to come through here? "You look familiar to me though..."

She studied me more closely before her eyes grew wide. "You are an adult human!" She took hold of both of my shoulders and pulled me closer. "You are a female, a human woman." She was nearly trembling as she studied my eyes. All I could do was stare back, the physical strength this creature possessed was incredible. I could not pull away even if I tried.

"Tell me, have you lost your child? Is that why you found your way here? You are looking for your child?"

The moment she said those words, my heart stopped.

How had she known?

"Y-yes," was all I could say, the tears welling all over again. I had not cried this much since that day…

I swallowed against the tightness in my throat and closed my eyes, willing the tears away. "I thought I saw my son on the trails. I followed him through the forest. I wasn't paying attention to where I was and I fell down this hole..."

"I knew it," she said, a sad look appearing in her eyes. "I knew that one day the mother or father of one of those innocent angels would find their way here." She paused and turned her gaze back to me. "I'm surprised it has not happened before now..." She took in a breath and released me, pulling away to put a comfortable distance between us. "My name is Toriel, I am the caretaker of these Ruins. I pass through here everyday to see if anyone has fallen down." She paused at this before a soft smile appeared. "You are the first human to come here in a long time… The very first adult human to come here at all."

She had risen to her feet and reached down a hand to help me up. I was hesitant at first but, since I could not sense any malice in her, I reached out to grab her hand. She pulled me up to my feet and her smile was a welcome one. "What is your name, my dear?"

I hesitated once again, my sense of self seemed to have diminished since I had fallen down here. What was it that my baby brother called me? It was a nickname but one I never liked. My true name was strange and hard to pronounce, thanks to our mother having eclectic tastes. Then it hit me like spark of electricity. My name…

It was a nickname given to me by a friend, though who it had been I couldn't recall. It seemed that since I had fallen down this place my memory had gotten foggy… In any case, this was a name that I liked and that I knew.

No.

It was a named that I loved.

It tied me to something substantial and I couldn't help the bubble of happiness that welled in my heart as my name tumbled forth from my lips.

"Ami," I said in reply to Toriel. "My name is Ami."

"Ami," said Toriel in reply, a bright smile now adorning her face. "I like it. It suits you." She patted my hand before she released it and gave a nod. "You seem to have a bit of knack for magic. I had not seen such a barrier cast in a long time. I feel there is strength in you," she hesitated, as if she was unsure of her words, but she continued. "There is so much love in your heart… You truly miss your child, do you not?"

I didn't reply.

It was obvious to anyone that a good parent loved their child above themselves. I could see the same sadness and understanding in Toriel's eyes as she studied me. She did not need a verbal answer to her question. She was person who knew and understood the loss…

The silence that fell between us was one of mutual respect, sadness, and understanding. We were both mothers who were still grieving…

"I know you must be tired and hungry," Toriel began, "If you trust me, I can take you somewhere safe."

She didn't need to ask if I trusted her because I did. I knew she would have harmed me the moment I was my most vulnerable. Instead, she gave me comfort and reassurance, which was what I needed at this stage of my journey thus far.

I bent down to pick up my picnic basket that I had dropped before I went over to grab the bucket she had dropped earlier. Thankfully, the snails had not been quick to escape and I had gathered them up and placed them back in the bucket. I turned around to Toriel and held out her bucket to her, a gentle smile on my face. "Lead the way."

She seemed surprised at such a gesture before her own smile emerged. She walked over to me and took the bucket from my hand. She made sure that I was paying attention before she continued on. "This place is full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between doorways and keys. One must solve them to move from room to room..."

I listened intently as I followed Toriel deeper into this Underground maze…


	5. Chapter 5

_But there's something about us I've got to say_

 _'Cause there's something between us anyway…_

 **Something about Us –** Daft Punk

Chapter Five: The Voice Beyond the Door

Toriel had guided me through the Ruins, explaining how the puzzles worked in each room we passed. There were switches and traps and things that did not appear as they seemed. The corridors were nothing more than dirt paths, carved walls, occasional green vines that climbed up against these same walls and several streams here and there. It was, in its own way, a lovely place. I would have liked to have explored this place further in another time but Toriel was anxious to get me to her safe place.

We had come across a few of her monster-kind along the way. Several that looked like frogs, several that looked like moths, and another kind that reminded me of a mold of wiggling jelly. These creatures eyed me with curiosity but did not try to attack me. They would glance at Toriel before moving along to wherever their path took them, giving the two of us a wide berth.

"Since you are a human, the monsters here may attack you if I am not around," said Toriel, glancing over her shoulder to look back at me as we walked. "If you were a child, I would be there to make sure nothing would harm you. However," she paused at this, looking conflicted. "You are an adult. You know how the world works." She stopped walking as we came to a bridge and I came to a stop just beside her. At this bridge there was a long platform filled with spikes over an expanse of water that filled the next room. It looked dangerous...

"I will not aid you in this," said Toriel, still looking conflicted. "If you wish to survive the Underground, you must learn for yourself how these puzzles work." She stepped aside and gestured for me to continue. "I will be here to offer help but do not expect much. This will be just one of many dangers you will face your path..."

I glanced at the goat woman and took in a breath to calm my nerves. I turned to face the bridge and studied platform and the room. I tried to remember any signs we may have come across along the way… This place was dangerous but not deadly. After all, Toriel lived here. There were tips and tricks everywhere…

Suddenly I remembered a plaque in one of the corridors we had passed on the way here. It had said that the room before this one was a blueprint… There had been a well worn path that wove an intricate line across the chamber we had passed through before and we had followed that path on the way here. Remembering the pattern of the path, I walked on toward the spiked bridge, following the path exactly as we had in that chamber. With each step on the right tiles, the spikes fell away and I was allowed clearance to continue.

When I had made it to the other side unharmed, I glanced back to catch sight of Toriel coming up right behind me. She was smiling and looked very proud. "Very good Ami! You were paying attention to your surroundings and knew the answer to this puzzle. I was worried that you would not have gotten it but..." She hesitated and shook her head, looking as if she were trying to remove whatever thoughts were running through her head at that moment. "I have to remember that you are not a child. Forgive me, I have never met an adult human before so this is as new to me as it is to you."

I smiled in return and a gentle laugh came forward, unexpected but welcome. When was the last time I had laughed? I couldn't remember.

"It's fine," I said, my laughter fading away to a friendly smile. "Thank you for letting me figure this out on my own. I think this is a good experience for the path I have to walk."

"Hm," was all Toriel said in reply before she walked past me and continued onward. She looked troubled for some reason and it worried me a little. I wondered what it was that was bothering her…

She continued to lead the way, several puzzles we came across she allowed me to figure out on my own. Once I passed them, she would always be right behind me and would continue on to lead the way. We came across a spider bake sale in one of the rooms and she asked me if I would like something.

"I don't have any of your currency," I said in reply, wondering off hand what a spider donut would taste like.

"Do not worry my dear, I will buy it for you." Toriel was smiling and she looked so sweet I could not refuse her if I tried. I gave a nod in agreement and Toriel handed me several pieces of round pewter, I assumed it was their money. Unsure of what else to say, I took the money and went to one of the intricate webs in the corner of the room. I left the money in the center of it and waited...

A moment later several spiders climbed down from a dark corner of the room, carrying what looked like a glazed donut. They climbed down and left the donut on the web before moving to take the money. I watched them as they climbed up and away to a dark corner before looking to the donut. Not knowing what else to do, I pulled the spider donut from the web- pulling off a few silky strands- and placed the donut into my basket for later.

Once that was done, Toriel once again led the way through the vast corridors of this labyrinth until we finally reached a large chamber with a bare tree, a pile of red leaves around its trunk. Up ahead, what looked like a house carved from the cavern, waited for us. Bright lights were shining through the windows and I could see the same sparkling light from the before hovering a few feet from the door. I wondered what that light was…

I had asked Toriel about it while we had been working our way through the Ruins but she didn't seem to know what I was talking about. I had tried to touch the one from before but Toriel had been in a rush.

I wondered…

Walking ahead of Toriel, I made my way to the sparkling light that hovered in front of her home. I did not hear her voice call out to me as I reached out to touch the light…

 _How did you get here my child?_

 _There, there… I will heal you…_

 _I should not have left you alone for so long…_

 _It was irresponsible of me to try to surprise you like this…_

…

 _A feeling of loneliness wells up in you…_

 _You want so badly to save this child…_

 _Yet he misses his true mother and father…_

 _He is such a kind soul and does not say this to you…_

 _But you can sense it…_

 _He will go like the others had before him_

 _But you know this one is different…_

 _Maybe he will survive…_

…

 _Seeing such a cute, tidy house fills you with kindness…_

I pulled my hand away from the sparkling light as the strange memories filled me. I stumbled and fell back, the blackness overwhelming me…

In the distance, I could finally hear Toriel calling my name…

-o-

When I awoke, I found myself staring up at the ceiling of a strange room. I reached up to place a hand to my head, the slight throbbing of a headache hitting my temples. I slowly sat up and shook my head, trying to clear away the fogginess. Once I felt I had gotten my bearings, I took in my surroundings.

I was in a comfortable bed, I could discern that much, but it was dark so I could not see where I was. Moving carefully, I felt my way around the side of the bed. My fingers trailed over a nightstand and along the surface before I touched the base of what felt like a lamp. I trailed my fingers up along the lamp and searched around until I felt a knob. I twisted the knob to the right and light filled the room. I closed my eyes against the sudden brightness, took a moment to compose myself, and then opened my eyes slowly to adjust to the new setting.

It was a large room but it was bare of anything but meager furnishings.

Aside from the nightstand to my left and the bed I was in, which seemed to take up the space to my right, there was not much else. There was a wooden chair beside my bed and on the floor next to it was my basket. There was a letter attached to it…

As I reached down to grab the letter I noticed the strange clothing I now wore. I paused, looking at the white sleeve of the robe that now adorned me. It was too long on my arm and the hem of the sleeve just barely allowed my fingers to poke through. I looked down at myself and found the familiar purple and white robes that Toriel usually wore were now on me. Deciding this was a story for another time, I reached out and took the letter.

 _Dearest Ami,_

 _I am so sorry that I had put you through all of those puzzles. You just had fallen down from the surface and you must have been tired and hurt. I didn't think that trying to solve all of those puzzles on your own might have made your health worse._

 _Please forgive me._

 _I was just so determined to see you do all of this on your own. I needed to see that an adult human could not be as bad as our history had made you to be. I needed to see if you were capable of handling what a child could not and yet still retain the sweetness I had come to know from those of your young ones. You had proven me right and I am glad of this. However, when you had fainted, I knew I must have pushed you too far. I am sorry for that._

 _I am also sorry for invading your privacy._

 _I had taken the liberty of washing your clothing (I had been discreet in changing you and gave you my own clothing to borrow in the meantime) when I had noticed the gold heart locket with the strange carving on the front that you wear around your neck. I was curious and I had taken a peek inside..._

 _Your son was such a sweet child._

 _Seeing his picture in your locket only confirmed what I had suspected: You're Sully's mother._

 _I never would have imagined I would meet the mother of one of the sweetest humans I had come across in my life. I can only say I am so sorry for not being more stern in keeping him here with me. If I had known one day you would turn up here…_

 _All I can do is offer you shelter and safety and I will help you in any way that I can. I_ will _help you. Do not hesitate to ask me for anything._

 _I do not know when you will awaken. You are sleeping peacefully as I write this letter. If I am asleep when you awake, help yourself to whatever you like. The kitchen is at the other end of the house if you are hungry- I made snail pie, in case that interests you- and the bathroom is the door at the end of the hallway. If you feel the need to go down the stairs, be mindful that the doors are locked and only I can open them. When you are ready, I will let you through them._

 _Make yourself at home. Please be well._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Toriel_

I couldn't help the smile that touched my lips at that moment. Toriel was truly a sweet soul…

The fact that she had known my son, and had helped to care for him, made my heartache just a little better. I knew my son well. He would have wanted to find a way home despite how sweet Toriel may have been…

Yes, she had let my son go on his own but how was she to know I would have found my way down here? How was she to know anything about my son? He had disappeared several years ago, so much could have happened between then and now…

For a moment, I had wondered about the sparkling light and the strange memories…

I decided to leave it be.

It was no more stranger than the green glow from my chest or that barrier of green light…

This place- whatever it was- was magic.

I got up from the bed, gathering the hem of the long robes as I did so, and kneeled down to my basket. I dug through it and pulled out one of the smashed sandwiches. As much as snail pie sounded nice, I was not willing to try it at this time. I ate the sandwich before I pulled out one of the bottled waters and drank half of it.

Feeling slightly better, I screwed the top back in place and stuffed it back it back in the basket. I stood up and decided it would be best if I found the bathroom. I moved to the door and opened it- vaguely wondering why there was a renovations sign on on it- and moved out to the quiet hallway. I followed the hallway to the end, passing another closed door on the left before passing a large mirror, and made my way into the bathroom. I was surprised to find such a facility in this home but considering that a lot about this place was unreal, I just chalked it up to magic…

Once I was done, I left the bathroom and silently made my way barefoot down the hallway to the entryway of the house. There was a long staircase that descended down to my right and a doorway that led to the rest of the house. I didn't feel like going back to sleep but I didn't feel like waking up Toriel, wherever she was sleeping.

Looking at the staircase, I decided it was a safer bet to take a little walk than than outside of this house.

I made my way down…

It was a long corridor and it was cold.

It got colder as I went along but I simply gathered the purple and white robes further about myself and continued on.

At the end of the long corridor was a set of doors that were as tall as the chamber they rested in. They did not have any hinges, locks, nor handles. The crest that were on Toriel's robes were carved into the doors themselves. Curiosity getting the best of me, I walked to the doors and pushed against them. They did not budge.

Toriel did warn me but, being human, I still had to try.

I pulled away from the doors and stared up at them, studying the crest. I wondered what it represented… It was a strange symbol of a circle with angel wings above a trio of triangles, one triangle in the center being upside down.

Did my son stand before these doors and wonder what the crest meant? Did he ever find out?

As I pondered the mystery of these doors and my son, there came a sudden knock from the other side.

I jumped in surprise, not expecting someone to actually knock on these doors, let alone at this time of… whatever it was. I edged closer to the door and listened… I didn't respond to the knock. It wasn't my home for one and for two I was intimidated by the fact that there might be another monster on the other side of those doors…

Regardless of the fact that they could not be opened.

Several moments passed before the knocks came again, a strong set that beat a rhythmic pattern…

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

I edged closer to the door before I found my voice and it came out in a hesitant and fearful tone. "Wh-who is it?" I called before I turned my ear to the door, straining to hear any kind of response…

There was silence.

It stretched on before, finally, a voice emerged from the other side. "Y-you..." it said, its tone was deep. It sounded as hesitant and unsure of itself as I did. It sounded almost… surprised.

I frowned in confusion, my thoughts screeching to a halt. What did it say?

"You who?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Silence…

Then…

A deep chuckle and then the deep voice spoke. "Yoo hoo to you too. You got my attention..."

I could only blink in response before the realization hit me.

A voice beyond the door just told me a terrible knock knock joke.


	6. Chapter 6

_There is never a time and place for true love…_

 _It happens accidentally_

 _In a heartbeat_

 _In a single_

 _Throbbing_

 _Moment…_

 **The Truth about Forever –** Sarah Dessen

Chapter Six: The Bad Knock Knock Jokes

Whatever I had been expecting when I responded to the knocking on the great doors, a knock knock joke had not been one of them. I stood there and stared at the doors, my mind trying to comprehend what just had happened…

"The joke couldn't have been that bad," the voice continued after the silence had stretched too far, its deep tones filled with mirth. I could only assume that this monster must be male. The sound of his voice was much deeper than Toriel's soft tones and it seemed to drawl slightly around his words, the accent indistinguishable from any I was familiar with. "The old lady usually gets a kick out of that one." He paused and I wondered what he was doing…

"Here, I'll try another one."

I could hear the shuffling of footsteps coming closer to the doors, a muffled sound of shoes crunching through snow. Snow? Well, that would explain why it was so cold down here…

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

Was he… knocking on the doors again?

I blinked in response, wondering if this was a common occurrence between this monster and Toriel. I suppose when you had large, locked doors nearby and no real companions, any interaction was better than none.

"C'mon lady, don't leave me hanging," he said, the sound of a deep chuckle mixing with his words.

Not knowing what else to do, I pulled my arms into the sleeves of my robes to fight off the growing cold. I could just say goodbye and head back to the house but there was something about this monster that pulled at me. I had nothing else better to do at the moment…

"Who is it?" I called, my voice much stronger and confident this time around, a hint of a smile could even be heard, much to my own surprise. For a moment, I sounded like my old self. Before my son had disappeared.

There was silence from the other side, it seemed as if he was hesitating for some reason. I was about to ask if he was all right when his voice finally emerged.

"A broken pencil," was all he said.

Tilting my head to the side, knowing I was going to regret this, I took in a breath to brace myself for the awful punchline. "A broken pencil who?"

"Nevermind," his voice said in reply, "It's pointless."

I blinked once and then twice.

I stared at the doors for a full ten seconds as the punchline registered.

The giggle was bubbling out of me before I could stop it and before I knew it was I laughing outright, a sound so unfamiliar to me that it caught me off guard. I didn't stop laughing though, if anything I just started to laugh even harder, the sound a mix between gasping and choking as I tried to breathe. I hadn't laughed like this in so long, it was such a strange feeling. The happiness was mixing in with the sadness that had been a constant in my life. The tears from the laughter were a much welcome occurrence than the tears that normally came.

"Th-that was terrible!" I said between the giggles as my laughter began to die down. I reached up to wipe my sleeve across my cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"But you're laughing," he said, his own chuckle coming forth.

"I am," I said, "and you have no idea how wonderful it feels."

"Oh gee lady," he said, "You're gonna make me blush." His chuckle sounded through door between us and I could hear the muffled shuffling of his feet. It made me wonder what kind of monster he was. I had seen frogs and moths and Toriel, who looked like a goat. Did he resemble some animal as well?

"Your voice is new," he said, breaking the comfortable silence. "Are you a friend of my friend?"

Considering he did not mention Toriel by her name, I could only assume he was not privy to it and probably his to her. I wondered if that was what they preferred. Not wanting to get in the middle of whatever their relationship was, I decided to make myself comfortable and settled down on the cold floor in front of the doors. I gathered the robes more tightly about my feet, deciding how to respond before just going with something straight forward. "Yes, I am."

"Welp," he said, "That's hilarious."

"What do you mean?" I asked, staring at the doors and wondering what he could possibly be doing out there. Wasn't he cold?

"Nothing lady," he said and I heard him shuffle a little more closer to the door before the sound of a thump hit the snow. It sounded like he had sat down. "You have good tastes, she's got _great_ sense of humor. Any friend of hers who can appreciate the finer points of a knock knock joke is a friend of mine."

I couldn't help the smile that appeared from that little comment. "Thank you," I said, "I could use all the friends I can..." My smile faded a bit as the aching sadness came back… I shook my head, trying to bury the ache down as far as I could push it. For the first time in years, I didn't _want_ the sadness. I wanted a little bit of joy. I wanted that same feeling this monster's bad joke had given me for that brief moment.

Bringing my knees up and resting my chin on them, I closed my eyes and took in a deep, even breath to force myself to feel… normal. "I'm Ami," I said to him, not knowing why I was giving him my name. I knew though that if I was going to find my son, it would be a good idea to have a friend along the way.

He didn't respond to my introduction and I didn't expect him to. For all I knew, he was probably content with not knowing the names of the people behind this door. Yet, if we would ever happen to meet, I would hope he would remember.

"Ami, huh?" he said, his voice finally coming through. He sounded closer for some reason. "Nice to talk to you." He seemed to hesitate again. He seemed to do that a lot since our initial introduction... I had the distinct feeling that this was not something he normally did.

A comfortable silence followed before the sound of his knocking came through.

I smiled at this and I asked who was there.

It went on this way for some time, the knock knock jokes were terrible but the laughter was fantastic. I didn't want this to end…

Finally, I decided to join in and I raised my hand to knock on the door. There was silence from his end before his voice emerged. "Who's there?"

"The interrupting cow," I said in turn, my smile already clear in my voice as I waited for his response.

There was a moment before his voice replied, curiosity clear in his deep tone. "The interrupting co-"

"Mooooo!" I bellowed out, my hands cupping around my mouth to make the sound of my voice amplified. The sound of it carried through the corridor and echoed away.

Silence was the only response I got and I slowly dropped my hands, wondering if maybe that joke was so bad that even he couldn't find it funny…

Then his laughter came through.

It wasn't his normal chuckle but an honest to god, full blown belly laugh.

He just kept on laughing and laughing until finally I had to laugh with him. The sound of it was so infectious and so wonderful. I could listen to that sound all day…

We laughed until neither of us could breathe and he finally got his bearings. "Oh lady," he said, "That was a good one."

"Thank you," I said, my smile was so big my cheeks were beginning to hurt and my lungs were aching from the laughter. It was a good ache. Whoever this monster was, he had made me laugh more today than I ever had in a long time. Anyone who could make me laugh was worth getting to know.

A moment passed before I could hear the sound of shuffling and crunching snow. "It's getting late," he said. I couldn't help the disappointment running through me as my smile faded a little.

"Tell our mutual friend I said hello," he said as the sound of his feet shuffled through the snow in the same spot in front of the door.

I got up from my spot on the cold floor, my legs aching from the lack of movement. I winced at the pins and needles feeling as the blood rushed back into my legs. "I will," I said in reply, once I was able to get the feeling back. I stared at the doors and placed a hand against the cold stone. "Thank you for the bad jokes and the laughs. I needed it..."

Silence was all I got in response.

It went on for so long that I thought he must have left as silently as he came.

I turned around and wrapped the robes around myself more tightly, now realizing just how cold it truly was down here. I couldn't feel my fingers and toes despite how thick the robes were. I rubbed my hands and blew into them, trying to warm them, when his voice came through, making me pause in surprise.

"Anytime Ami," was all he said before the silence fell again.

This time, I knew he was gone.

Smiling sadly, I began to make my way back up the corridor and into the warmer reaches of Toriel's home. With each step I took, the aching sadness began anew and my smile faded a little. It had been so long since I had felt joy that I had completely _forgotten_ what it felt like. The aching sadness was all I had to see me through these last several years.

Even if it was for just a moment, that monster had brought me joy.

At the thought of him, my heart warmed, the aching sadness gave way just a little… and kindness filled me…

-0-

(A/n) Thanks everyone for the great feedback. It helps me to go back and reread everything so I know where to take this story. I hope you don't mind the fluff but it was a necessary part of establishing the point of this story. Thanks again!


	7. Chapter 7

_I might not be the right one…_

 **Something about Us-** Daft Punk

Chapter Seven: The History

When I made it back to the entryway of Toriel's home, it was to find said goat woman making her way out of the hallway that led to the bedrooms. She had a pile of folded clothes in her arms- my clothing to be exact- and she stopped in surprise at the sight of me.

"Ami," she said and a smile touched her white furred features. "I thought you were still asleep." She paused slightly, catching the sight of the dust and dirt on the hem of my borrowed robes. "You… went to the doors..." Her smile had faded slightly and she looked so sad.

I studied her after she said this, noting the look on her face and in in her eyes. I wondered what she could be thinking of that would bring such a sad look to her face when it hit me. The words from her letter:

 _Seeing his picture in your locket only confirmed what I had suspected…_

The aching sadness that had been building back since I left the monster who had made me smile erupted full force. Here was standing one of the last beings to see my son alive…

"We need to talk," I said, my voice nothing more than a flat, emotionless tone.

She seemed to wince but she gave a nod in agreement and walked across the entryway. "Follow me, we can sit in here..." I followed her into the other end of the house and entered a rather large living area. There was a fireplace to my right where a fire was currently crackling away, though there was no immediate heat to be felt. The entire room felt pleasantly comfortable. There was an armchair right beside the fireplace where I could see a book with a ribbon sticking out of it resting on the arm. There were a pair of glasses resting on top of them.

To the left side of the room was a large dining table with three chairs set in respective places. A pot of golden flowers rested in the middle of this table and I was instantly reminded of my own field of golden flowers. In fact, they were the very same breed of flowers from the mountain. At the sight of them, my sadness eased just a little and I was reminded that here was a woman- a female monster but a woman nonetheless- who had lost her own child or children for all I knew. I had seen the look in her eyes from when we had first met. She understood me better than anyone…

My heart softened and kindness filled me once again as I watched Toriel set my clothes down on the edge of the table. She turned to look at me and gestured for me to take a seat. "Please, sit down. I can make some tea if you like."

I moved toward the seat on the right sight of the table and gave her a grateful smile. "That would be lovely Toriel… Thank you."

At the sound of the warmth in my voice, the look on her face instantly brightened and she quickly excused herself to run off to the kitchen, which was through another doorway at end of the room. While she was gone, I took the time to relax and gather my thoughts. I knew that something terrible had happened to my son but I didn't know what. I had to find him whether he was alive or dead…

He was trapped down here somewhere and I was the only one who could get him home…

-o-

 _Knock  
Knock_

…

 _Who's there?_

…

 _Al_

…

 _Al who?_

…

 _Al give you a kiss if you open the door_

…

-o-

I must have been more tired than I thought because the next thing I knew, I felt a hand on my shoulder and shaking me gently. "Here Ami, I brought the tea. I am so sorry it took so long."

I let loose a tired yawn and I raised my hand to cover my mouth. I shook my head and blinked a few times before I looked up at my hostess. "I am so sorry Toriel. I don't know why I fell asleep like that..."

Toriel smiled at me and shook her head as she gave my shoulder a squeeze, the look in her eyes was filled with warmth. "It seems you've been up for awhile but you still have been through so much. I'm not surprised your body is still tired. You must not be used to the magic running through you..."

An image of a green heart and a barrier flooded my thoughts at her words and I closed them, willing the strangeness away. These memories were not mine…

This magic I could feel burning through my soul were not mine…

At least, I didn't think so…

"You're the first adult human who has ever come down here," said Toriel as she grabbed the tea pot she had brought and poured me a cup of tea. I smiled at her in thanks and reached out to take it. "Your physical body is capable of handling the magic to a much stronger degree. The only humans who have passed through here, since the barrier was erected, were children and their bodies could not materialize the magic within their souls except in only the most pure form." She moved to serve her own cup of tea before setting the pot down on the tray she had set beside the pot of golden flowers. "Sully was nothing but kindness..."

I immediately froze at the sound of my son's name coming from her lips.

"He was pure kindness," she said as she sat down in the chair to the right of my own. "He couldn't hurt a single soul, even if he had tried. Everything he did and said meant to protect those who couldn't protect themselves." She took her cup in hand and looked at me, her smile was one of fond sadness. "He told me once that everyone had a heart… Everyone was worth saving… I had asked him where he had learned such a thing and he told me simply, 'My Mommy…'"

The ache in my heart, which had always been a constant since my son had disappeared, erupted and I set my tea cup down on its plate. I closed my eyes as the tears began to well up and burn beneath my eyelids. I let out a choking sob and buried my face within my hands, feeling like such a failure. My son had needed me and I wasn't there to protect him…

My sobs were heavy as my anguish escaped in the only way it could. My son had to face whatever dangers this underground world had brought to him and he had to face them alone. Whatever had brought him to this place had been merciless and I couldn't help the anger that arose in me. Whoever or whatever had brought my son to this place, whoever or whatever had taken him from me, would not feel an ounce of ease. They had made a mistake in grabbing my child…

I would make sure they suffered for making my child suffer…

I felt a hand on my arm and I pulled my face away from my hands, glancing over to Toriel and seeing the sadness in her eyes, the anger that had been filling me suddenly faded away. The compassion in her eyes made my angry thoughts fade away and the vengeful fire that had been burning in my soul faded away to nothing more than a blue ember of sadness. I took in a breath, realizing that my anger was not the answer to bringing my son back, and I sighed softly in defeat.

My anger would not help my son. My love for him would. The kindness and compassion I had instilled in him was my saving grace and reminded me of who I was.

"I'm sorry Toriel," I said, my tears beginning anew. "I have to know why this happened and I have to know how I can make this right. My son is gone and he is trapped down here somewhere. I can feel it… I have to set him free."

Toriel's own tears began to fall as she pulled her chair closer to mine and reached down to take my hands in hers. She took in a breath and began her sad tale…

-o-

She had told me everything…

From the very beginning…

She told me of the war between monsters and humans that happened over a millennium ago and the resulting exile for the monster race. She told me of her own child and of the first human child to fall down to these depths since the end of the war… How that human child had become her own and how their family had grown..

How she, as the former queen, had lost everything because of an illness, a last wish, and the ignorance that came with being human…

Her former husband, the current king of the monster realm, had taken to gathering the souls of any human who fell down to this Underground world in the hope of breaking the barrier that kept all of the monsters here. My son was one of those souls currently trapped by this king… In the hopes that all of the monsters would be free…

I wanted so much to hate this creature and those like her.

They had taken my son and kept him here when all he had wanted was to go home…

I wanted so much to hate these monsters…

Yet, I was so tired.

I was so tired of the sadness, of the anger, of the hate…

Since my son had disappeared my life had been nothing more than a downward spiral of self hate and depression. Everyone had blamed me for Sully's disappearance and I had accepted that blame for so long…

Here I found the truth and there was a chance for my son to be free…

He may not be alive but he would be free as long as I had any breath in me.

"You said that a monster could move through the barrier with a human soul," I said to Toriel, some time after she had finished her tale.

She glanced at me, the sad look on her face was somewhat dazed. "Yes," she said after awhile. "Only one human soul is needed to merge with a monster for that monster to pass through..."

I stared down at my cold cup of tea, long abandoned since the beginning of this fucked up history lesson. "So a monster only needs one human soul to pass through the barrier and then they need to gather six more human souls to destroy the barrier completely..."

Toriel focused her gaze on me, following my words yet not truly understanding what I was saying. "Yes..."

I pushed my tea cup away and turned slightly in my seat to face the former queen of this realm. "If I were to speak with the king, do you think he would give me a chance and actually listen to me? He wouldn't try to slay me on the spot, would he?"

Toriel blinked in response before her eyes grew wide. "He has never met an adult human before… Maybe..."

That was all I needed to hear.

"If he were willing to listen and if he knew that he had a willing human soul to help him through the barrier to find six more human souls that were not of innocent children… Would he let my son and those other innocent souls go?"

The cup Toriel had been holding slipped from her hand and fell to the wooden floor with a clatter, tea spilling every which way. "Wh-what are you saying?"

"Humans are wonderful and terrible creatures all at the same time," I said as I leaned down to grab the tea cup from the floor. "They're good, bad and everything in between." I sat back up and placed the cup back on the tray in front of her. "Yet, there are even worse humans… Those who have committed the worst atrocities to their own kind… If all that's needed to break the barrier are human souls, no matter the good or evil intent of them, then all the King would have to do is take those terrible souls in place of the innocent ones he had been keeping. Those children, including my son, will be free to move on to whatever peace comes after this existence. The monsters will be free as well... It will benefit everyone..."

Toriel was crying now as she took my hands in hers. "Y-you… would be so willing to sacrifice yourself? For us?"

My throat grew tight with emotion and I tried my best not to think of what I was promising to do. Death was not an easy option if given the choice. Yet my son was trapped here… Not alive and not free to pass on…

"I will do anything to make sure my son is finally free and at peace," I said in reply and left it at that.

Toriel was silent as she studied me, an intense look in her eyes.

Finally, she let my hands go and sat back in her chair. "There's no way for me to change your mind," she said, "You are not a child. You know what sacrifice you are making by choosing this path." She sighed heavily as her shoulders slumped slightly in defeat. "I will help you in any way I can. If you can convince Asgore of your plan..."

I gave a nod but did not reply to what she was implying.

If I survived the journey through this Underground world to make it to the king in one piece, I may have a chance of convincing him… Even then…

It was a long shot.

Still, my son was waiting for me. I couldn't let him down…

-o-

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

…

 _Who's there?_

…

 _Adore_

…

 _Adore who?_

…

 _There's adore between us…_

 _..._

 _Will you let me in?_


	8. Chapter 8

_But there's something about us_

 _I've got to do_

 _Some kind of secret I will share with you…_

 **Something about Us –** Daft Punk

Chapter Eight: The Bare Bones

"All you will need to do to open the doors push lightly with your magic," said Toriel as she packed a few butterscotch-cinnamon pancakes and pies she had made into my basket. I was dressed in my regular clothes: my green hoodie, jeans and black trainers had never felt more wonderful. Toriel had given me the robes I had borrowed. She had washed them and tucked them into my basket with the extra food ("It's always good to have a spare set of clothing") before handing the full basket to me.

"The door will open from this side but not from the other," she said before she hesitated, the look on her face growing worried. "Once you pass through, you will not be able to come back here. Are you… sure this is what you want to do?" She focused her gaze on me. "You are always welcome to stay here..."

I smiled at the woman, set my basket on the dining table, and moved forward to wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close into a hug. She was much taller than me so I could only hug what I could reach. She was very tall for a monster, my head just reaching her shoulders. "Thank you taking care of my son… Thank you for everything Tori," I said as I tightened my hug around her. It was a moment before I felt her arms wrap around me in turn and returned my hug.

I could hear a sniffle or two before she released me and pulled away. "Well then… I was never one for goodbyes." She reached up to wipe her tears away as she took a step back. "You know the way… If you'll excuse me… I have a few things to tend to." She took another step back before a sudden look of realization touched her white furred features. "Oh! Before I forget! When you leave this place, if you ever meet a monster with a penchant for bad jokes… Please, please tell him this joke. He had promised me he would watch over and protect any human who would emerge from those doors. Tell him this joke and he will know you are a true friend of mine."

My heart nearly stopped at that and my thoughts instantly went back to the monster on the other side of the great doors. "What was the joke?" I asked, my thoughts focused on the monster who had made me laugh more than any human could ever hope to. I don't know why I didn't tell her that I had met her friend last night. There was a part of me that was very possessive of the moment we had shared… I didn't _want_ to share it with her…

This was what confused me the most. She was a good person and we had shared everything of each other to each other since we had started talking. She knew my story and I knew hers…

Yet, I didn't share this one thing with her…

I didn't know why I was so possessive of the moment shared between our mutual friend. I decided it was best to leave it be so I didn't mention anything of our meeting. What she didn't know...

"Why did the skeleton want a friend?" She was smiling at me and the look on her face could only be described as mischievous.

I was already smiling by this time, instantly reminded of our mutual friend. "I don't know… Why?"

"Because she was feeling _bonely."_

I instantly brought a hand up to my mouth to stifle the sound of my laughter but a choking sound still made its way through. Tori heard this and her own laughter soon joined mine. We laughed at how awful the pun was but so wonderful at the same time. Finally, once our laughter had died down, she studied me with such a sad look on her face.

"Why couldn't you have been the second human to fall down here?" she asked as a light frown marred her features. "Maybe… You should have been the first..." Her frown deepened and she closed her eyes. "Life would have been so different… My children..." She paused at this and took in a breath. "Maybe things would have been different if you had been the one to come here before my second child. Maybe meeting an adult human like you would have made things better… More peaceful..."

I could only give a sad smile in reply to her words and I moved forward to place a hand against her arm. "Then I would not be the same person you've come to know now. From what I understand of what you had told me, you have lived a very long life so far. The first human who fell down here, your child Chara, sounded as if they would have been from a time before I was even born." I said, my own sadness leaking through. "At this point, it doesn't matter. Neither of us has the power to go back and change what was. The only thing we can do is move forward."

Tori smiled at me and reached up to place her hand over mine. "You're right… It still does not change my mind… You would have been a welcome addition to our family."

I shook my head and gave a sad smile as I pulled away from her. "I think it's time we say see you later," I said. "We should get together for tea, butterscotch-cinnamon pie and bad jokes once this is all over. What do you say?"

Tori could only smile sadly in response before she pulled me into another hug. I returned her hug and we held each other for a moment before she pulled away. She studied me for a moment before raising a hand in goodbye and then she turned and left the room.

Now alone, I took my picnic basket from the table and made my back down to the long corridor below…

-o-

The doors had given way easily enough once I had pushed my magic against them.

It was strange to see the green light emerging from my chest and responding to whatever direction I gave it. It flowed down along my right arm and emerged from my fingertips to spread against the cold stone doors…

They opened with a creak and I shivered against the rush of cold air and snow that greeted me. I took in a breath and let it loose, the stream of silver puffs easing from my mouth and nostrils. I pulled my hood up against the rising cold and hugged myself tightly.

I moved forward, not noticing the golden flower behind me…

-o-

All that stretched before me was a well worn path in the snow with dark, tall trees on either side. Whatever light source the snow was reflecting was enough for me to see but not enough to determine if it was daylight, moonlight or some other source of light. I glanced up in a fleeting moment to determine if I could see a crack of the surface but all that greeted my sight was darkness. There were no clouds, no sun, no moon nor stars…

Just a darkness that held a few wispy clouds from the apparent temperature change from the surface and down here…

It was very easy to feel despondent with such a view…

Tucking my basket further into the crook of my right arm, I took in a breath and glanced back at the doors behind me. They had closed of their own accord the moment I had stepped through and I knew there was no way of going back there. A part of me was already missing the sweet warmth of Toriel's home…

Yet…

Somewhere out here, the monster who loved bad jokes was around…

I couldn't help the curiosity and the determination that filled me. Would I meet my monster who loved bad jokes and puns?

I ignored the intimidating sight of the forest that surrounded me and began to walk forward. If there was a chance that my friend was here somewhere, I had a reason not to feel scared…

I hoped he would remember me…

The further I walked down this path and deeper into the forest, the closer I began to feel I was being watched. I looked around at the dark trees surrounding me, studying the shadows as best as I could in this strange light. There was something out there watching me, I could feel it…

Like the tendrils of some blue force lightly touching against the green of mine. In a way that was almost familiar…

I was so focused on on the strange sensation that I did not see the big branch in the middle of the path I was walking on. I tripped over the offending branch and let out a startled shout in surprise…

Only to hear the very same branch snap behind me, as if something heavy had stepped on it, and something strong grab me around the waist.

It was there for only an instant but it was gone the moment I felt the resistance. It was enough for it to slow my fall and I merely stumbled into the snow. I reached out in a vain attempt to keep myself upright and I did this strange flailing motion with my arms before I fell face first into the snow.

It was a moment before I heard a deep chuckle…

I pulled myself up from the snow, brushing the cold slush away as I looked around, my suspicions growing by the moment. I got to my feet, brushed off the snow from the front of my green hoodie and jeans, before I continued to walk. I made my way at a steady pace while my senses kept an ear out for whatever, or whoever, was watching me.

After awhile, I came across a strange wooden bridge that crossed a small chasm. There were thick wooden bars built across the width of this bridge, bars that looked as if they were trying to keep something out, but not anything smaller than a broad shouldered human. I could easily fit through these bars without batting an eyelash… A child would barely blink an eye…

The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow behind me caught my ear and I froze on the spot, my heart now beginning to pound. Why had I not heard them before now?

The footsteps continued to crunch through the snow until they stopped right behind me… I could sense them there and yet I wasn't afraid…

"Human," a deep voice spoke, a voice I knew and had become very familiar with. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand..."

I turned slowly on the spot and my left hand was already reaching out to take the hand of the monster behind me…

My hand reached out and was caught by a hard hand… A very hard hand that lacked any skin, muscles, or tendons. It was a hand of solid bone...

The fingers of this bone hand wrapped around mine and curled slightly, the tips of its finger bones resting comfortably against my skin. For a moment it seemed to tremble…

I raised my gaze from the ground... and was caught off guard by the sound of a long, wet, fart that sounded between our hands. It went on for a full five seconds before dying down in a weak flap of rubber. I blinked in surprise as I focused my gaze on the sight of a skeleton that stood a head shorter than me. It was dressed in a blue hoodie, black shorts that ended to the knee and a pair of pink, fluffy slippers on their feet. The skeleton was staring at me with this ever present grin on its face -considering it had no lips, it was a given- a pair of light pricks could be seen from the deep black sockets of their eyes.

Here was my monster with the penchant for bad jokes.

Well, he wasn't any kind of animal.

For a moment, I had almost missed the trembling in his brow line and my curiosity was peaked…

"Heheh," its -his- chuckle began, a deep tone I was familiar with. "The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's _always_ funny."

I let out a soft giggle, already knowing who this was and already knowing I was safe. "You know what's funnier?" I asked in turn, my smile already growing as the joke came to mind.

He immediately froze at the sound of my voice, his hand tightening around mine, making the whoopee cushion give one last feeble toot. I didn't pay it any mind as I pulled my hand closer, pulling him closer by extension. I allowed myself to feel the same joy from the night before as my smile grew warm.

"Knock, knock," I said.

He was silent as the pin pricks of light in his eye sockets moved to focus between my own. I could hear an audible swallow coming from him as he tried to gather whatever thoughts were running through his head at this moment.

"W-who's there?" he asked, his gaze continuing to focus between my own.

"Me," I said, my smile growing warm.

"Me who?" he asked, his hand trembled once in my grasp and I wondered why.

"Ami from behind the doors," I said, my smile growing even more at the hope his reaction would be positive. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Ami..." he said, his voice saying my name as if it were the most precious thing…

Suddenly his laughter rang out and I immediately began to relax. He laughed for several moments before he released his hand from mine and held it out, showing me the whoopee cushion. "Ami, you're a human!" He placed his hand in his pocket, his ever present grin making things a little more comfortable. "That's hilarious. Good one by the way. Seems you've been practicing with our mutual friend."

"She is a good sounding board," I said, my smile growing by the moment. I don't know what it was but finally meeting this monster face to face made the constant sad ache in my heart diminish to a dull throb. "So, does the friend of my friend have a name?"

He shrugged in reply to my question and turned slightly to stare off into the forest, his eye sockets actually closing like eyelids. How odd…

Well, monsters were made of magic from what Toriel had told me. A skeleton monster's face was allowed to move in anyway it pleased I supposed.

"Sans," he said after a moment and turning to look back at me. "Sans the skeleton… and uh, same."

"Sans," I repeated, more to myself than to him. "Sans… Why did the skeleton want a friend?"

He stared at me in surprise before a deep chuckle escaped him. "Heheh… Why?"

"Because she was feeling _bonely,_ " I said in reply and I was rewarded with another one of his deep laughs.

"That's one of hers," he said, after his laughter faded, "I guess she trusts you a lot more than the others..."

I frowned in confusion as I studied him. "What do you mean?"

"She wouldn't have told you to tell me that joke if she didn't want me to know I could really trust you." He shrugged at this, as if it were nothing serious. "The old lady has a soft spot for humans, I know that better than anybody. But you… There's something about you she must _really_ care about."

I couldn't say anything to that. What was there to say? We were both mothers who had lost their children. It's an understanding that transcends any species.

"Anyway, we should get going," he said, "I'm supposed to be on the look out for humans but considering the circumstances, we gotta hide you. My brother, Papyrus, is a human-hunting fanatic and I think that's him coming up the path. C'mon, I gotta place you can hide behind..."

He walked around me and started walking toward across the wood bridge with the too-wide wooden bars., his hands still buried deep in the pockets of his hoodie. I stared after him, studying him, before I adjusted my basket on my arm and followed after him.


	9. Chapter 9

_She sits on the roof,  
hoodie-covered arms  
wrapped around her legs  
She watches the stars  
and sticks out her tongue;  
she's catching snowflakes  
as her body shakes  
in the freezing cold.  
She closes her eyes  
and takes a deep breath,  
spreads her arms and legs out wide  
like she's making a snow angel.  
They say she's a dreamer,  
and they were right…  
Now she's a snow angel... _

**Snow Angel –** poem by Gossamer

Chapter Nine: Snow Angel

Sans had let me across the bridge, through the too wide bars, and on toward the rest of the path. We came across a clearing in the forest where the path widened. To the left hand side of the path was a small wooden building that looked like a sentry point of some kind. Before that, was a strangely shaped violet lamp just resting there on the side of the path for no apparent reason. Off the path close to the treeline, there were two very large balls of snow that had been pushed together in an attempt to build... something.

"Quick, hide behind those two mounds of snow," said Sans as he turned around to look at me.

"Um," I hesitated, my gaze flicking over to the wooden building. "What about that sentry post?"

"No room," he said as he glanced over to the sentry point. "I have all my ketchup, mustard and relish bottles under there. You wouldn't fit."

"Hm," I frowned at the skeleton, wondering what game he was playing at, before I moved off the path toward the two mounds of snow. As I got closer, I noticed they were looking suspiciously like a pair of…

My blush was in my cheeks as I tried to comprehend what I was looking at. Was this skeleton serious? I looked back at him, my brows raised in surprise and skepticism. He seriously couldn't be that bored, could he?

Sans caught the look on my face and a deep chuckle escaped him, though I could see he was quickly ducking his head deeper into the folds of his blue hoodie to hide his face. He looked embarrassed but not apologetic and he simply shrugged in response to my unasked question.

Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps crunching in the snow from the path up ahead, I sighed and quickly went to hide behind the large pair of snow mounds that looked like breasts. I kneeled down into the snow behind the snow mounds, suppressing a shiver as the coldness began to seep through my already soaked jeans from my previous fall. I could not believe that I was hiding behind a large pair of snow breasts…

Not for the first time, I was questioning the sanity of my monster friend.

"Sup, bro?" Sans' voice carried over to my hiding place, a casual greeting to his brother. I was curious about this monster but knew that if I tried to have a look, I would give my hiding place away. I wasn't exactly a small child and I didn't want to risk getting caught by a human hunting monster. They would kill me before I would even have a chance to speak with the king. I couldn't let that happen…

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER!" said another male voice, this one a slightly higher and much, _much_ , louder pitch than Sans'. His accent was different from his brother's but not one I could identify from those I was familiar with from humans. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T- RECALIBRATED- YOUR- PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp… It's _really_ cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A _HUMAN_ COMES THROUGH HERE?!" I could hear the repeated stomping of a boot against the snow, the crunching sounding muffled with each repeated stomp. "I HAVE TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I _MUST_ BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"

At this point, the Sans' brother went on a monologue as to how great he was and how he would finally get everything he utterly deserved. As I listened to this monster, a part of me couldn't help but hear the distinct loneliness in between the lines. He was craving affection and attention, no matter the source. He had his brother but apparently that wasn't enough for him. He was craving more out of his existence and the only respite appeared to be joining the King's Royal Guard.

The maternal part in me, one I had thought disappeared with my son, suddenly flared to life. I couldn't help but feel for this monster and, before I could even comprehend what was happening, another attachment had grown. These two skeleton brothers were pulling at my heartstrings more than any human had in the last several years…

"Hm," came Sans' voice. "Maybe those two snow mounds will help you."

Was he serious?

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" came his brother's voice in response- Papyrus was his name- and I could hear the stomping begin anew. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERYDAY!"

"Hey, take it easy bro. I've gotten a _ton_ of work done today..."

Oh please don't…

"… a skele- _ton_."

He did.

I quickly buried my face into the sleeves of my green hoodie, trying not to make a sound as I fought down the laughter that was bubbling up. I had to hold my breath and even then it was a fight. I couldn't make a sound or else...

"SANS!"

"C'mon, you're smiling!"

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" I heard a heavy sigh come from Papyrus and I was finally able to fight off the laughter. I let out the softest of sighs for myself and continued to listen to the two brothers. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

"Wow," came Sans' voice and I was already bracing myself for whatever horrible pun he had coming. I stuffed my fist into my mouth, took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I can do this… Don't find whatever bad pun he comes up with funny... "Sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the _bone._ "

A loud choking sound erupted from my throat and I had to double over to stifle the sound. The tears were burning in my eyes as I tried so hard not to laugh.

"SANS!" came Papyrus' voice, now filled with concern, "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? YOU'RE NOT GETTING SICK, ARE YOU?"

"Nah bro," came Sans' reply and I could hear him coughing, trying to cover up the sound of my choking laugh. "Just got a chuckle caught, that's all."

"WELL, IF YOU'RE SURE..." I could hear the sound of Papyrus' footsteps shuffling in the snow. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES… AS FOR YOUR WORK..." He paused and I hoped he wasn't going to follow the same trail of thought as his brother. "PUT A LITTLE MORE… _BACKBONE_ INTO IT! NYE HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH..."

His laughter continued on in such a manner and it was such a horrible laugh but so adorable. Like some kind of villain who was trying so hard to be evil but just couldn't make the cut. My laughter choked out of me again but thankfully Papyrus' louder laugh drowned out any sound of it. I was sure Sans must have heard me but thankfully his brother was already on his way with a last "Heh."

"OK," I heard Sans say after a moment, "You can come out now."

I didn't respond. I simply laid back in the snow and let loose the laughter that had been trying so hard to come out since I was introduced to these two brothers. I laughed and laughed until the tears were streaming down my cheeks and I was nothing more than a gasping mess.

"Hey there snow angel," I heard Sans' deep voice from just above me and I opened my eyes to find Sans staring down at me, his ever present grin seemed filled with warmth. "Are you gonna lay in the cold snow laughing all day or do you wanna get going?"

"You two are terrible," was all I could manage in response.

Sans did not look the least bit apologetic. "Yeah… but you're laughing."

I let out a soft laugh and shook my head. "I am… and I love it."

Sans reached down a hand to help me up. I took it and was pulled up by a surprising amount of strength coming from a monster shorter than myself. I brushed off the snow from the back of my jeans and green hoodie before I grabbed my basket and looked at my friend. "So, what now?"

"Well," Sans glanced at me, his gaze flicking between my own. "Actually, are you in much of a hurry?"

I blinked in response, my immediate thoughts going to my son and to meeting the King. I would say I was but… There was something about this monster and his brother…

"What do you need?" I asked, knowing that this was something my son would have wanted me to do. He would have wanted me to help these monsters on my way to help him… What could I say? I had raised a very selfless child. I don't know if that was a good or bad thing now…

"I'd hate to bother ya but I did promise the old lady I'd look out for you," he said, focusing his gaze down at the fluffy pink slippers he wore. Seriously, did he not feel the cold? "Would you do me a favor in return?"

I studied this skeleton monster, knowing his love for bad jokes and his willingness to keep a promise, I knew whatever he asked wasn't going to be farfetched. "Name it," I said, not caring what he asked. If he was willing to protect me from whatever human-hunting monsters I came across, I would be willing to help him with what he needed in turn.

"I was thinking…" he began, his grin seemed to lose its warmth as his gaze focused off to the trees beyond. "My brother's been kinda of down lately. He's never seen a human before…" He focused his gaze on me. "Seeing you might just make his day."

I was hesitant, if only for the fact that Papyrus was a human-hunting fanatic. Yet, I trusted Sans… It was the strangest thing but it was something I could say with certainty. I trusted Sans and I trusted he would not steer me wrong. "All right," I said before a shiver caught me and I trembled. "So long as you promise me, after whatever he throws at me, you get me somewhere warm that has hot drinks and hot food."

The warmth returned to his grin and the light pricks in his eye sockets brightened. "You got yourself a deal, snow angel."

I paused at the sudden nickname but decided not to think about it. Maybe that was something he said to all females…

"I'm going to have to go this alone," I began as he led me back onto the path. "Aren't I?"

"Don't worry, he's not dangerous," said Sans as he looked at me, giving me a wink for good measure.

I ignored the sudden skip my heart gave and blamed it on the cold. "It's not that," I said, "He's a sweetheart, even I could tell you that. But after him… There will be others… You can't be there for all of them."

He paused at this and I stopped in surprise, nearly tripping over him in the process.

"You..." he said, his voice losing all of its humor. "I'll be there for you… For everything… I promised..."

I glanced down at him in surprise, noting the sudden seriousness his face portrayed despite the ever present grin. I began to worry and a part of me didn't like the fact that this monster was being serious…

"Well... um... By the way," I said, my voice light and teasing. "Did I have to hide behind those snow breasts? Are you sure there wasn't enough room under the counter of your sentry post?" I paused at this and a sudden thought hit me. "How do you even know what breasts look like? Are there monsters down here with breasts? I thought monsters were made of magic... What are the point of breasts for monsters if all that's needed is-"

I paused, catching the sight of the sudden deep, blue hue that now touched Sans' cheekbones. How interesting...

His gaze went from my eyes to my chest and quickly back to my eyes before he let out a loud cough. He turned his back to me and walked at a determined pace back to his wooden building. "You oughta get going," was all he said in response. "He might come back."

He didn't answer any of my questions and, as I watched him walk to his sentry post, I decided it was best to just leave it alone. Maybe he saw a human porno or magazine from somewhere…

Shaking my head, I made sure my basket was firmly set in its proper place in the crook of my right arm and continued onward...


	10. Chapter 10

_Oh my love,_  
 _I know I am a cold cold man._  
 _Quite slow to pay you compliments._  
 _Or public displayed affections._

 _But baby don't you go overanalyze,_  
 _No need to theorize_  
 _I can put your doubts to rest._

 _You're the only one worth seeing._  
 _The only place worth being._  
 _The only bed worth sleeping's_  
 _the one right next to you._

 **Cold Cold Man** **–** Saint Motel

Chapter Ten: The Cold Puzzles

When I had made my way down the path and deeper into the forest, I came across a fork in the path, one going north and the other continuing east. Off to the left hand side of the path I was on, was another sparkling light hovering above the snow, just like the one in the ruins.

Touching this sparkling light, I figured out another aspect to my… magic? Powers? I didn't know what to call it but whatever these hovering lights were, they seemed to retain memories of humans who had passed before and I could _see_ them. The memories I had privy to were of my son, Sully. I could only guess that because he was my child that the memories these sparkling lights had saved echoed so strongly with me. They had shown a time and place when he had been making his journey through this snow covered land with his burnt pan in hand… He had looked so determined…

It was a brief memory but seeing my son again had also filled me determination. He had walked this path. I was on the right track… Thankfully, I had been expecting such a thing since the first time it happened so I did not faint this time.

Back to the story at hand, my meeting Papyrus the skeleton had to be one of the most surreal moments of my life so far. He was easily one of the strangest, sweetest creatures I ever had the opportunity to meet. For some odd ball reason, Sans had managed to find his way ahead of me (did he know some shortcut?) and was listening to a one sided conversation with his taller skeleton brother.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..."

The sound of my black trainers crunching through the snow toward them broke off Papyrus' line of conversation and both skeletons turned to look at me coming up the path. I paused in mid-step, minding a large rock that was in the middle of the path. I stared at the skeletons before my gaze moved over to Sans. He was gazing back at me, the ever present grin on his face. He winked at me and my heart gave a skip in response.

Papyrus glanced at his brother, then at me, and then back at his brother. This went on for a moment before the tall skeleton turned completely around and beckoned his brother to do the same. Sans looked like he was trying not to laugh as he glanced at me, gave another wink, and turned around to move close to brother.

" _SANS!_ " said Papyrus in a voice was that trying to imitate a whisper but utterly failing. " _OH MY GOD! IS THAT… A HUMAN?!"_

Both skeletons turned to glance at me over their shoulders before Sans glanced up at his brother. "Uh… Actually, I think that's a rock."

I stared down at the rock I had nearly tripped over before focusing my gaze back on the skeleton brothers. Surely, Papyrus was not this… simple?

"OH," said Papyrus, looking disappointed and turning around to face me, not even paying me the least bit of attention. Oh my god, he really was so innocent. My bleeding heart, which had already formed an attachment to this monster, ached even further and I couldn't help the smile that touched my lips.

I glanced at Sans and he at me and the understanding passed between us with no words needing to be spoken. His ever present grin was filled with such warmth as he studied me and I could see the affection in his gaze. I couldn't tell if it was for his brother or the fact that I was willing to go along with his idea of letting his brother play human-hunter. In either case, it was good look on him and my heart was filled with kindness at the sight of it.

Sans glanced up at his brother and tilted his head in my direction. "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

The tall skeleton's gaze focused on me before his face lit up with excitement, "OH MY GOD!" He exclaimed in excitement before he hesitated and glanced at his brother. He tried to lower his voice and once again failed utterly. " _IS… IS THAT A HUMAN?_ "

Sans looked like he was trying not to laugh as he focused his gaze on me. " _Yes,_ " he said in a mock whisper in return.

"OH MY GOD!" He looked like he was about to jump in place as he focused his gaze back on me. "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL… I'M GONNA… I'LL BE SO..." He looked like he was hyperventilating on the spot as he actually started to hop from one foot to another. "POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"

I was trying so hard not to laugh and it didn't help that Sans' shoulders were shaking from his own silent laughter. Papyrus didn't notice and he quickly composed himself as he cleared his throat. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN..." He hesitated for a moment his features going from confident to unsure. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT..." He trailed off at that before he shook his head. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE! IF YOU DARE..." His infamous laughter began and he turned with a dramatic sweep of his red scarf before running off.

The moment he disappeared down the path, I broke down in complete laughter. He was just the sweetest, unintentionally funniest creature I had ever met. I was gasping for air as I doubled over, trying and failing to breathe between the laughter.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," said Sans from right beside me and I took in a breath as I glanced at him in surprise. He was very good at moving around without being noticed.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks as I straightened. "I'm sorry Sans, I don't mean to laugh. Your brother is just so adorable. I hope he'll go easy on me with whatever he has planned."

"Don't sweat it snow angel, he won't cause any harm," he said with a wink before he turned his gaze back down to the path ahead. He was silent a moment before he turned his gaze back to me. "I'm glad you like my brother. It means a lot..." He trailed off as his gaze remained focused on my own, the warmth in that gaze making my heart feel as if it would stop at any given moment. He blinked and cleared this throat, looking as if he were coming back to himself. "Anyway, you might wanna get goin'. He'll have a few puzzles waiting for you and I know he's excited to have you try them. He can get a bit impatient."

"I'm already moving," I said with a smile as I began to walk passed him and continue down the path, waving a hand over my shoulder in goodbye. I heard his deep chuckle and my heart filled with warmth…

-o-

So the puzzles were… interesting.

The first one was a word jumble from what looked like a local newspaper. I had glanced at it, confused as to what I was supposed to do, before I looked at Papyrus and asked if he had a pencil I could borrow so I could finish the puzzle. I had to at least try, right? He had looked genuinely confused and then devastated. He had apologized over and over for not having a pencil so I could finish the puzzle and he told me to just skip it and the next one would be much better. I felt awful for disappointing him and he disappeared down the path before I could call out to him. Sans had been chuckling and had told me not to worry about it. He had winked at me again and again my heart skipped a beat. Why was this skeleton so charming?

On the way to the second puzzle, I came across a few interesting dog monsters. A few pats, a game of fetch with a stick I found, and a bit of defensive magic from their attacks and the next thing I know I have made a few buddies in these dogs. One dog in particular had been very excited when I pet him and his neck had gotten longer and longer and longer and…

I stopped when I couldn't reach him anymore. He was a very happy dog.

The second puzzle was nothing more than a cold plate of spaghetti on a wooden table and an unplugged microwave on another next to it. There was a note from Papyrus stating that I would be so engrossed with eating his spaghetti that I will never move forward. I had to try at least…

The spaghetti was frozen solid to the cold plate and when I tried to lift the fork, the pile of spaghetti and the plate lifted right with it. I felt bad that I couldn't eat what he cooked but… well… I rather liked having my teeth.

I left that puzzle and made my way through this frozen underground, going through a series of puzzle constructed by Papyrus. They were genuinely easy enough to pass and I found myself enjoying them. I came across Papyrus and Sans a few times on my way through the puzzles. The tall skeleton was looking happier and happier with each puzzle I passed. Sans was looking happier and happier because of this. Each time I passed a puzzle, he was there to meet me and he would offer me a kind word, a bad joke and his ever present grin. He would wink at me and seemed to get a kick out of how flustered I would get. I tried my best to ignore my skipping heart…

The last puzzle was a bit dangerous.

Walking across a long, wooden bridge and finding a series of deadly blades, flames, and other odd assortment of traps looking ready to shred me apart was not what I expected. I had been so shocked that I had looked at Papyrus and had shook my head and asked him if I had done something wrong. I apologized to him and told him I would be happy to do another puzzle. He had looked at this trap before glancing down at his brother and then looking at me. He had pressed a button on a remote he held, the various traps disappearing from whence they came, and he simply turned around and walked away without another word.

Sans was laughing outright and by the time I had crossed the bridge and made it to him, he was wiping the tears away from his cheekbones. "Oh snow angel, you have a way about you, don't you? I have never seen my brother look so guilty." He shook his head and smiled up at me. "I don't know what he has planned for you next, this was his last puzzle. I think it'll be all right to take a break. How 'bout those warm drinks?"

"That sounds wonderful," I said with a smile, my body shivering from being in the cold so long.

He have a nod and pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out to me. "Here, take my hand. I know a shortcut to town."

I didn't think twice about it as I reached out to take his hand. His fingers wrapped around mine and he gave it a gentle squeeze, the warmth in his gaze seemed to grow before we were suddenly wrapped in darkness…

-o-

(A/n) Hey guys, I'll be out of town the next week on vacation. I will have my computer with me so I hope to upload a lot to this story next week. I'll be busy the next couple days though so here is a chapter for now. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!


	11. Chapter 11

_There's nothing wrong_

 _with_

 _Just a little bit of fun…_

 **Digital Love –** Daft Punk

Chapter 11: The Familiar Bar

The next thing I was aware of was sudden warmth that hit me along with the distinct smell of grease and a slight hint of wet dog. I glanced around in surprise, caught off guard by the sight of the bar that surrounded me. There were monsters of all sizes and shapes sitting at the tables and at the bar. They were drinking beer and various mixed drinks and eating burgers, fries, and other various grilled and fried foods I couldn't name off hand. It was probably a particular dish that was catered to that particular monster. The bar itself was directly across from me and spanned the width of the majority of the far wall save for a spot on the left to walk behind the counter and a spot on the right where a horse monster dressed like an 80's punker was sitting beside a juke box. Behind the counter was a monster that was literally nothing but fire. He was dressed very sharply in a white shirt and black vest, a bow tie at his neck and two black sleeve garters at his biceps, something a traditional human bartender would've worn back in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. He had a pair of glasses on on his face, though there was no obvious facial features to discern from the moving flame that was his head. At the sight of me, he had paused in wiping the glass he was drying, his gaze focused on me.

The dog friends I had made while going through Papyrus' puzzles were here and they were enjoying what looked like drinks in large metal drinking bowls. That was… seriously adorable.

I felt the hand holding mine give a gentle squeeze and I was being pulled further into the bar, the short skeleton greeting everyone he passed. They greeted him in turn with various, "Hey Sans!" and "Sansy! Good to see you!" The dog monsters had greeted him and they had looked at me with curious gazes but their tails were wagging. Oh yes, I could recall three of them did not have a good look at me but their sense of smell must have helped them to remember.

"There's that nice weird smell who played fetch with us!" said the female of the two ax wielding dogs.

"Yes, that was a nice weird smell," said the male of the two. "Are they a friend of Sans'?"

The third dog with the terrible eyesight that couldn't see anything that wasn't moving added his two cents. "Did you guys come across that strange ghost stick too? It played fetch with me and then it pet me!" He let out a low woof as shook his head. "Strange ghost stick… It scared me but it was nice."

Sans came to a stop in front of the dogs' table and pulled me close beside him. I don't know why he hadn't let go of my hand but for some reason I wasn't uncomfortable about it. In fact, I rather liked it. It felt… right. "Guys, this is Ami. She's a good friend of my brother's and me. You met her earlier when she was going through his puzzles."

I was slightly nervous at being formally introduced to these monsters but I smiled and waved my free hand in greeting. "Hi guys," I said, "It was nice playing with you earlier."

At the sound of my voice, a lone white dog monster in armor, that had been sitting at a table by itself and playing a card game, lifted its head. It dropped its cards and turned around to look at me. It let out an excited yap and pushed back from the table, knocking over its chair in the process. It barreled past a couple of monsters who had been sitting at the bar, its bulk pushing them over and knocking over their drinks in the process. There were a few shouts of surprise but the white dog didn't pay them any mind. Its focus was soley on me and before I even knew what was happening I was being bowled over, my hand being pulled from Sans'. I fell back to the floor, my picnic basket banging against the foot of drunken bunny monster sitting to my right.

The excited yapping continued as I felt a rough tongue going over and over my face, thick slobber coating my cheeks. I knew who this was and I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of me as I reached up to scratch my favorite dog monster behind its ears. "Hey there buddy, I'm happy to see you too!"

Its neck got longer at my petting and I immediately stopped, remembering what happened the last time. Instead, I tried pushing at the dog monster's armored chest, it was heavy and refused to budge. "OK sweetie, that's enough. You have to let me up." It ignored me and continued trying to lick my face. "Sweetie, you have to stop now, I have to get up." It continued to ignore me and instead went to lick at my ears. I let out a sigh as what my ex-husband used to call my "mother mode" came into play. "I said that's enough." My tone was firm and all lightness was gone. At the sound of it, the white dog looked at me and let out a soft whine in protest. I frowned and shook my head. "No. No more. We've had play time before and that's enough for today. Let me up, c'mon now."

Its ears flattened back against its head and it let out another whine before it reluctantly got up and reached down to pick me up with surprising ease. It set me gently down on my feet and reached out to brush my loose curls away from my face with a paw before it stood there, waiting. I let out a breath in relief before a reached out to give a scratch under its jaw. "Thank you sweetie. I promise, I'll come back and play with you later OK? Right now I need to warm up."

Its tail wagged and it let out a yip in agreement before it turned and went back to its table.

The silence that greeted me didn't register as I brushed the wet dirt and slush off of my jeans and the back of my green hoodie. I focused my gaze on Sans, who shoulders were shaking with silent laughter, and I tilted my head, waiting for him to finish. He shook his head as he turned around, still laughing, and beckoned me to follow him to a couple of empty seats at the bar.

As I walked past the dog table, I heard a deep woof and my gaze focused on the bigger white dog in armor from the snow poffs before. It woofed again at me and I could see the doggy smile on its face. I smiled at the sweetheart and waved hello before I went to the bar. Taking a seat down beside Sans, the sound of a wet fart broke through the silence and I blinked in surprise. I got up from the seat and looked at the flattened whoopee cushion I had sat on. I picked it up and held it out to Sans, a questioning look on my face.

"Careful snow angel," said Sans, his ever present grin filled with humor. "Sometimes weirdos put whoopee cushions on the seats."

"Charming," was all I could manage to say before the laughter came out of me. I don't know what it was about this monster but he always managed to make me laugh. That was all that was needed and the bar was soon filled with the sound of laughter before the sound of conversation picked up again. It seemed that at some point between my entering this bar with Sans, my interaction with the dogs, and the whoopee cushion, the monsters had relaxed. They instinctively knew that I was not one of them, they must have, but I was glad that they seemed all right with my presence.

Sitting back down on the stool, I reached over to stuff the whoopee cushion in the pocket of Sans' blue hoodie. He froze at the sudden movement and I froze as well, the sudden tension between us unexpected. I slowly removed my hand from his pocket, not even knowing why I had done so in the first place. I didn't know this monster, despite how comfortable I was in his presence. I don't know what came over me… It was like second nature to me, something my body remembered doing though I had no memory of such a thing.

I could feel the heat in my cheeks as I quickly placed my hands on top of the counter. "Sorry, I… don't know why I did that."

I kept my gaze on the bar counter so I could not see Sans' face from my peripherals. I could tell he was looking at me but I couldn't see what his expression was. Was he embarrassed? Annoyed? I hope I didn't make him uncomfortable…

"I-it's all right," he said, the humor gone from his voice. I could hear a trace of disappointment and... longing? I couldn't tell for sure and I was afraid to look at him to find out. "Don't worry about it. An honest m-mistake, right?" I could hear the hesitation, he had stumbled over that word. Mistake… Did he think it was a mistake? It didn't feel like one. In fact it felt the same way when he held my hand…

 _So right…_

I was missing something and I didn't like it.

I felt as if I should be remembering something… It was nagging at me since the moment I set foot in this Underground place…

The sound of ceramic thunking against the wood in front of me brought me back to my senses. My gaze focused on a white mug that was placed in front of me filled with a familiar frothy liquid. Without thinking, I reached out to take the mug and brought it to my lips. I took a sip and the taste of the creamy liquid rolled over my tongue, the familiar taste of the liquor mixed in with the coffee instantly warming its way down to my stomach. I let out a moan in pleasure as I swallowed that sip and took another, deeper one. I cupped the warm mug between my hands and let out a pleased sigh. "I didn't know you all could make Irish coffee down here… It's so good… Did you know this is my favorite beverage?"

"Y-you d-don't say?" Sans' voice broke through my pleasured daze and I blinked, coming back to myself. I looked at the skeleton monster beside me and was about to respond when the look on his face caught me off guard. He had his hand around a glass bottle of ketchup and it was trembling slightly. My gaze focused on his face and I saw the deep, blue hue in his cheek bones. His smile seemed to be trembling but it was his eyes. The white pricks of his eyes were completely gone, nothing more than black sockets. Between the deep blue hue of his cheekbones and the bottomless pits of his sockets he looked… He looked…

-o-

 _Desperate…_

 _Aching…_

 _One touch of magic hitting that weak spot…_

 _The lights of his eyes were gone and black voids were all I could see. His grin was always there but I knew better. He was almost gone. One last hit of magic and he would be gone. He let out a low groan, desperately trying to fight it._

" _Y-you..." was all he could ever say. It's what he would only ever say. No matter how many times we battled it was always the same response._

 _I would win._

 _He would win._

 _Every time we battled… One or the other would win. Sometimes, it was just too much, and one of us gave in before the other. No matter how many times, it always felt like the first time…_

-o-

"Are you hungry? I ordered us some fries." His voice broke through the strangeness that had taken over. His familiar voice that made my heart ache with longing and familiarity. I could only manage a nod in response but could say nothing. That strange memory…?

I wasn't near a sparkling light this time but that resembled the same kind of saved memory that I saw of my son. The slight fogginess, the echo, the feeling of a time gone…

A memory…

Yet, it wasn't any memory of mine. I had never met this monster before. I had never been down here before. I wonder if it was the memory of another monster? Someone he had known? But why would I be privy to such a memory?

My confusion continued and I was quiet the rest of the time, drinking my Irish coffee. I did not notice the look from the bartender as he studied me with concern, one would almost say with worried familiarity...

I did not notice the sidelong glance of longing from the short skeleton right beside me...


	12. Chapter 12

_It started out as a feeling…_

 **The Call –** Regina Spektor

Chapter 12: The Bone Battle

"I should be going," I said, once the fries were done and gone. I had learned that Sans had an affinity for drinking ketchup straight from the bottle and it was strange but for some reason it didn't surprise me. I had learned from Toriel's love of snail pie that monsters had a taste for foods that humans would have found strange and unusual.

The uncomfortable silence that had prevailed since I had placed that whoopee cushion in Sans' hoodie pocket had only grown worse when the owner of the bar, Grillby, kept throwing glances my way. I could not tell what looks they were, seeing as he had no discernible facial features, but I couldn't help but have that same feeling from before, as if I were missing something…

"Thank you for the warm drink and meal Sans," I said, not bothering to glance at him as I got up from the stool. I reached into my pocket and pulled out some money to cover for my portion of the tab. I felt a hand on my arm and I glanced at the short skeleton to my right. He was studying me, the light pricks of his eyes focusing between my own.

He gently shook his head as he let my arm go, "Don't worry about it. I got it," he said before he looked at Grillby. He got up from his stool as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Grillby, put it on my tab." He looked at me before he turned and started walking toward the front door. "Keep heading east out of town. My brother will be waiting for you," he said, not sparing another glance back at me. I could feel the ache in my heart as he left the bar, the door slamming closed behind him.

Not knowing what else to do, I looked at Grillby, who was watching me closely as he was wiping down another clean glass. His gaze seemed to soften and he gave me a gentle nod. "...trust him… he won't let you get hurt…" He looked away as he focused his gaze on his glass. "...not again..." I heard him mutter to himself. I took in a breath, feeling the sudden urge to cry, not knowing if I was supposed to hear that or not. I didn't know why but those words started a feeling of deja vu in me.

I wanted so badly now to find my son…

I wrapped my arms around myself and turned to leave the bar. The sudden cold that hit me seemed to awaken me from the slight fogginess that had covered my senses. That sense of deja vu was chased away and I finally felt like myself again. I blinked and looked around, finding myself standing in the middle of a snow covered town. Here and there, various monsters walked and talked, a good majority of them furry monsters or monsters that seemed immune to the cold. Bunnies, bears, a mouse with overly large ears had an extra long scarf wrapped several times around its neck. It was seriously adorable…

Pulling my hood up, I gauged my surroundings and took a left, heading east to the edge of town. I passed several houses on the way but one in particular caught my attention. I stopped and looked at the two story house before my gaze settled on the two mailboxes. The one on the right was a typical mailbox, nothing special about it. The name "Papyrus" was painted on the side in a surprisingly elegant script in black. The mailbox next to it was the complete opposite, overstuffed with what looked like junk mail, some of the letters were flowing out of the back and even a few had fallen to the snow. The name "Sans" was scrawled on the side in large, blocky, black letters.

The ache in my heart had grown as I studied the mailbox before looking at the house. There were Christmas lights strung up along the roof and along the balcony to the east side of the house. As I stood there and studied the house, that feeling from before begun anew. My confusion was growing and growing the more I stood there and stared at this house and I wondered what it was about this place that was so familiar…

I closed my eyes and turned away from the house, deciding I should be more focused on getting to my son than trying to figure out whatever mystery this place was. I didn't know why I felt like I should know this place but there was no sense in wasting time. My resolve growing, I kept walking east toward the edge of town, determined to get through whatever next puzzle Sans' brother had waiting for me…

-o-

As the town began to slip away behind me and I continued east on my way to meet Papyrus, a fog from the river north of me began to roll in. The closer I got to the edge of this large cavern, the foggier it got until I could barely see my own hand in front of my face. I was afraid I would get lost in this fog and accidentally find my way off the path and into the river. I was about to turn around when a very familiar loud and very much welcome voice greeted me.

"HUMAN," called out Papyrus from the fog, he sounded as if he were coming from the direction I had been originally walking toward. Which meant I hadn't gotten lost, thank goodness…

"ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS," he continued, apparently not noticing that I was not facing him. My mouth twitched up into a smile and I had to fight down the laugh as I slowly turned to face the direction his voice was coming from. I could see a distinct, tall humanoid shape in the fog ahead of me but not much else. "FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL… AND… AND…" he hesitated, his voice wavering slightly, as if some emotion were trying to bubble forth. "TH-THE CONFUSION OF FEELING YOU HAD MET THIS COOL PERSON ONCE BEFORE..."

I froze at those words, that feeling of deja vu becoming prominent with each word he spoke. Did he sense it too? Did he feel that this was all familiar? Maybe I wasn't completely losing my mind…

"THESE FEELINGS," he continued, his voice regaining his confidence from before, "ARE MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW! I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU HAD HEARD ALL ABOUT ME AND FEEL AS IF YOU ALREADY KNEW ME!" He made some kind of gesture, I could only assume it was something heroic, but I could not see due to the fog. "I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU, LONELY HUMAN" He paused, as if a sudden thought had hit him, and then his voice continued. "WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..." He paused again before he looked as if he had turned around. "NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND. YOU'RE A HUMAN!"

That sudden statement struck a cord with me and made the ache in my heart, which had begun anew since Sans had left me at Grillby's, burn slightly around the edges. This wasn't right, even I could feel it, but it was not for the reason that Papyrus believed. "So what?" I asked, my voice carrying through the fog and reaching him. He had been in the middle of a speech about his joining the royal guard and gaining prestige and popularity when the sound of my voice had surprised him.

"W-WHAT?"

I took in a breath and took a step closer to him so he could see me a little more clearly. "So what if I'm human? We can be friends. I feel like, in another life, we already had been. I like you Papyrus. There's no need for you to capture me. After all, I'm on my way to the capital to meet with King Asgore." I hesitated, afraid to speak this out loud but I felt as if he had to know, he had to try to understand why I was here. "He has my son. His name is Sully. He disappeared several years ago without a trace. It was by pure accident that I fell down here and discovered that my son had fallen down here as well. I'm… I can't be captured if it means I can't meet the king to save my son." I took another step closer until I could finally see his face, his gaunt skeletal features were set in an ever present grin like his brother's, but his were more expressive. The corners of his cheek to cheek smile were capable of turning down into a frown. "If you'll help me to meet the king, maybe I can help you get into the Royal Guard? I hope that if the king agrees with my plan, all of the monsters will be free."

"Y-YOU HAVE A PLAN," He asked, sounding unsure, "TO SAVE ALL MONSTERS?"

I gave a nod as I took another step closer and was just a few feet away from him. "My son is innocent. He needs to be free. I hope the king will give me a chance and listen to my plan. The humans he has are children, innocent souls that fell into this place. He needs humans but he shouldn't use children. He needs humans who had done the surface wrong, those that don't deserve to live on the surface, unlike the nice monsters I have met here- like you and your brother." I smiled up at him and reached out a hand to him, hoping he would want to help me. "He only needs one to get through the barrier, I can help him do that. If he agrees, I can help him find those humans he needs to break the barrier. But, I need to meet him first. Will you help me? If you can, I will ask Asgore to get you on the Royal Guard, what do you say?"

"R-REALLY?" His face brightened and his ever present grin seemed to grow. "YOU WOULD HELP ME GET ON THE ROYAL GUARD? I-I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD WANT TO HELP ME… AND YOU L-LOST YOUR SON…? I-I-"He hesitated before his grin faded a little and he slowly shook his head. "HOW DO I KNOW THIS ISN'T A TRICK? UNDYNE TOLD ME HUMANS WERE GREAT LIARS."

I dropped my hand at this, knowing I couldn't convince him with my words. I took in breath and let it out slowly to ease my nerves. "What do I need to do convince you?"

He seemed taken aback at this but a light appeared in his eyes. "DEFEAT ME IN BATTLE. DEFEAT ME THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HELP YOU ON YOUR QUEST." He seemed to look unsure as he thought of his terms but his resolve grew. "I-IF I DEFEAT YOU, YOU WILL BE MY PRISONER."

I felt my heart nearly drop at these words. I couldn't fight him let alone defeat him. I didn't have it in me to fight any one of these monsters, though goodness knows they have tried their hardest to fight me. They were so much nicer than any human, aside from my family, that I had ever known. I folded my hands behind my back and crossed my fingers. I was comfortable with my magic, which was capable of producing very strong barriers against magic attacks. I could only hope I could tire him out…

"All right," I said, "I agree."

With those words, I felt the tug on my chest and my soul burst forth from my body, a beaming deep-green heart-shaped light that pulsed with a surprising hint of deep blue along the edges. I never realized it did that before...

Our surroundings grew dark and I knew we were transported to a pocket of time and space that seemed to pull on those who wished to battle. I had been here many times on my journey through this snowy place so far and was familiar with what to expect. I just hoped that Papyrus would be easy on me, I had a deep feeling he was much stronger than he gave off.

He seemed to hesitate at the sight of my soul but his determined expression meant the battle was going to go on, whether I liked it or not. I wondered if I could stay on his good side that he would lessen his attacks on me… I didn't know what to expect but I had try at least.

"Papyrus," I began, catching his attention. "I like your scarf, it looks good on you. Where did you get it?"

"W-WHAT?" He said, looking shocked. "FL-FLIRTING?!"

What? I suddenly realized how what I had said would have been taken as flirting to someone so sweet at Papyrus and my blush was in my cheeks before I could stop it. Before I could even get in a word to explain that my comment was not meant to be taken as flirting, he was already off on a tangent. "SO, YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR _ULTIMATE FEELINGS_! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!"

I stuttered out a reply, trying to think of anything that he might not mistake for flirting. "I-I can't cook to save my life," I said, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "The only thing I can do well is bake."

"Y-YOU CAN BAKE?" He exclaimed, "I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT A SPAGHETTI PIE WOULD TASTE LIKE!"

I couldn't imagine what he was thinking of and my words came out before I could stop them. "I think… that's a lasagna..."

"W-WHAT?" He shouted, "THERE IS SUCH A THING AS SPAGHETTI PIE?! AND THE NAME! LA-ZAN-NEEYA! I LOVE IT!" I took a step back in surprise as a bone came flying out from my right. I easily dodged it but it had been close. "YOU ARE EXCEEDING MY STANDARDS HUMAN! OH GEE, I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE SUDDEN ATTACK, I GOT EXCITED..." There was a touch of an orange-red hue to his cheekbones as he looked at me. "I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU..?"

Oh... I think I made things worse…

"LET'S DATE L-LATER, AFTER I DEFEAT YOU!"

So the battle commenced.

The bone attacks were easy enough to dodge, I didn't need to use my magic barriers against him… At least until his infamous blue attack came. I was surprised when the deep-green of my soul suddenly turned completely blue and I found I could not move as much as before. I could dodge to a point and his bone attacks became more fierce as the battle went on. I didn't bother to attack him, I was concentrating on erecting my green barrier against his barrage of bone attacks.

It went on like this for some time, the both of us wasting our magic as he attacked and I defended. We were at a stand still and by the time his special attack was supposed to happen, a familiar white Pomeranian was munching on the bone that was his special attack. Papyrus yelled at the dog to give back his special attack but the dog was long gone with the bone in his mouth. The tall skeleton was disappointed and let loose a very long but regular bone attack. The majority of the bones hit my barriers but a few made it through, giving me a good whacking and knocking me down on my ass. By the end of it, we were both heaving from exhaustion and a single, small bone was all he could throw at me.

I watched it as it slowly moved toward me and I was so tired, I threw my hand out and erected a small, green barrier to block it. It slammed against my barrier and both the attack and barrier faded from view…

"WELL..!" He began, his chest heaving with breaths as he tried to strike a pose. "IT'S CLEAR… YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!" He finally managed a pose and let out a chuckle. "YEAH! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS! THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMAN! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!"

Well, he was finally doing something other than attacking me…

I let out a sigh and felt my knees begin to tremble as I tried to smile at him. "All right, I give up..." I said, the stars dancing across my vision didn't seem normal. I felt a flutter of worry as I reached out for something, my voice escaping me before I realized what I was saying let alone doing. "Sans…?"

I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and I was pulled close against a strong body. A familiar one… I smiled as I leaned back against this strong body, my deep-green soul fluttered for a moment as it recognized the one who held me, the hint of blue along the edges growing deeper at the contact.

"OH MY GOD SANS! TELL ME I DIDN'T KILL HER! I COULD NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF IF I HURT THIS HUMAN! SHE IS SO NICE AND-"

Papyrus' voice drowned out as a familiar, deeper one spoke into my ear. "I got you snow angel," he said. "You did good..."

I could feel my smile and I wanted so badly to wrap myself in everything to do with him. He was safe and warm…

"Sans," I whispered his name, my tone loving and trusting. "I'm sorry for earlier..."

His grip on me tightened and all I could do was fall deeper…

"Hey now… I promised… Always for you..."


	13. Chapter 13

_Which then grew into a hope…_

 **The Call –** Regina Spektor

Chapter 13: The New Friend  


My first waking thought was how comfortable I was…

My next thought was, 'what happened?'

The last thing I could recall was being in a battle against Papyrus and then…

Nothing.

I had blacked out at some point though I could not tell you as to why or how. Did I use too much of my magic? Maybe I did not get enough rest at Toriel's…

I do recall a lot had happened between then and the fight with Papyrus and all without an ounce of sleep. Time down here did flow in a strange way.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring up into a ceiling that was done in a pale plum shade. I let out a soft groan as I reached up to rub the grit from my eyes. My entire body was trembling as I tried to sit up and take in my surroundings. Like before in Toriel's home, I was in a comfortable twin sized bed. However, unlike the room in Toriel's home, this room was comfortably furnished. There was a dresser with a mirror above it to my right side next to the bedroom door, my basket was resting on top of it. The wasn't a window but there were patio glass doors to my left that looked as if they led out into a balcony, a pair of lace curtains hung on either side. I could see the multicolored flashing of Christmas lights tangled around the snow covered railing outside. I continued to glance around my new surroundings and caught sight of a nightstand that had an old battered alarm clock on it directly to my left. You know the ones, they were the kind that had the hands on a round front face with numbers, two bells atop it and a little hammer that banged between them when the set time arrived to alarm. It was the kind you had to wind up each and every time you wanted to set the alarm. I had not seen one of those since I was a girl visiting my grandmother's house. She had one that was almost like it set up in the guest bedroom I used to stayed in. As I continued to study the room, there was something about this room that seemed familiar to me...

"How ya feelin', snow angel?"

The deep voice that spoke startled me from my reverie and I jumped slightly, my heart skipping a beat as my eyes automatically searched the room. I found the very familiar form of my favorite skeleton standing beside the closed bedroom door where he hadn't been before. He was dressed as he was before, his blue hoodie, his black shorts and fluffy pink slippers on his socked feet. His ever present grin seemed filled with warmth as his gaze studied mine.

My heart skipped another beat as a smile came unbidden to my lips. "Sans..." I managed to say, the warmth in my heart overwhelming me, the tone in my voice was a mixture of relief and something intimate. There was something there on the edge of my memories, a familiar something that I could not grasp. He must have caught the tone in my voice because his sockets had widened just a bit, his gaze flicking between my own as if searching for something. Before I could catch on to whatever that familiar something was, I let out a groan as a wave of dizziness struck me. I placed a hand against my head, the familiar sense now gone with the overwhelming feeling of a headache.

I felt a bony hand grip my left shoulder. "Hey, I guess you aren't feeling all that well yet," he said from his new place right beside me and I glanced at him to see his gaze studying me with worry. "Don't worry, you're safe here."

"I know," I said in response, remembering the moment he had caught me right when I had fainted from exhaustion. We both remained quiet after that, a comfortable silence that helped to ease the dizziness I had been feeling. I felt my focus regain as I looked at Sans, worry evident on my features. "Is your brother all right? He didn't get hurt, did he?"

His gaze flicked between my own before that warmth in them seemed to deepen. "Yeah, my bro's fine," he said in reply before he glanced over at the door. "He's been worried about you. Been standing outside that door all night and morning." He chuckled before he looked back at me. "I don't think he'll leave until he talks to you. Are you feelin up to it?"

I blinked at that before a soft smile turned up my lips. I liked that warmth in his eyes, it made me feel better… I gave a nod in response, knowing that was the least I could do considering Sans and his brother had apparently let me stay in their house while I was knocked out.

Sans released his grip on my shoulder as he took a step back, looking as if he wanted to put some distance between us. For some reason, I did not like that…

He stuffed his hands back into the pockets of his hoodie as he glanced at the door. "By the way, thanks..."

My gaze remained on his face, my confusion evident. "For what?"

He glanced back at me before a hint of blue appeared on his cheekbones. "For my brother… You did everything you could to make sure he didn't get hurt… Even if it meant depleting your own magic." He looked away, seemingly finding it difficult to find the right words. "That's… incredibly selfless… You could have easily fought back but… you didn't. So… thanks for that."

He turned away before I could reply and he walked over to the bedroom door, reaching out to the door knob and giving it a twist. The moment he opened the door, a flurry of energy came in and stopped just short of the threshold. Papyrus was fidgeting in all of his tall glory, the corners of his smiling mouth turned down in a worried frown. He was anxiously rubbing his gloved hands as his gaze switched between Sans and me. He seemed so unsure of himself, which was very unlike the very confident Papyrus I had grown to know in the short time I had been down here.

I didn't like it.

I placed a welcoming and warm smile on my lips as I tried to sit up as much as I could in this bed. "Hi Papyrus."

He froze at once, his gaze flicking back to me. If it were possible, he seemed to deflate into himself. "H-hello..." he said in such a quiet murmur that I almost didn't hear him

I tried not to let my own smile deflate and instead I continued to address him in a warm manner. "Are you doing all right?"

He continued to fidget until I had asked my question and he froze once again, his gaze focusing on mine. He didn't say anything as he studied me and I was beginning to feel my warmth ebb away to slight sadness. I quickly glanced at Sans, who was watching his brother with a patient look on his smiling face. He didn't seem worried about his brother's strangely quiet manner and I wondered if this was how Papyrus sometimes was…

I jumped at the sound of a sudden harsh cry and before I knew it, I was swept up into the tightest embrace I had ever experienced in my adult life. I was pulled out of the bed- thankfully, still fully clothed- and I was swung back and forth as Papyrus wailed in my ear.

"OH HUMAN! I AM SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU! WILL YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME?"

"P-Papyrus!" I gasped as I tried to get him to put me down. "I-I can't breathe!"

He let out a squeak and he quickly set me down on my feet, which then my knees were quick to waver and give out from beneath me. I was caught around the waist by a familiar strong arm and pulled close against a shorter, stronger body that gave me much needed support.

"Bro, be easy with Ami," said Sans, a slight hint of disapproval could be heard in his voice. "She's still low on energy."

\

"OH! I'M SORRY HUMAN! I-I MEAN… AMI?"

I couldn't help the soft giggle that escaped me as I leaned against Sans, feeling suddenly much better. His arm around my waist tightened just a bit in response to my leaning. "It's all right Papyrus. I did give you my word before the battle so it's not your fault. I do forgive you for swinging me around like a rag doll, though."

The corners of his mouth lifted into a happy smile as he looked at me. "WELL I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, GENEROUSLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS. WE SHOULD CELEBRATE OUR NEW FOUND FRIENDSHIP WITH BREAKFAST! HOW DOES SPAGHETTI SOUND?"

I didn't know what to think about that and instead I gave a nod in agreement. "It sounds wonderful Papyrus, I am hungry." I paused at this and a light frown touched my features. "But… Aren't I your prisoner?" I looked up at him in question.

Papyrus looked shocked at that question and a slight frown touched his own features. "I WOULD NEVER MAKE A FRIEND MY PRISONER AND… SANS WOULD BE VERY UPSET WITH ME IF I TOOK YOU TO THE CAPITAL."

"But… you defeated me, remember?" I said, ignoring that last statement about Sans. It made a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of it. It was best not to think about it...

"I… DID NOT," Papyrus said, straightening to his full height and looking offended by the very idea. "YOU WERE A WORTHY ADVERSARY, ALMOST AS STRONG AS ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! YET, DESPITE MY OWN GREAT PROWESS, I DID NOT DEFEAT YOU. IT WAS MORE OF A TIE..." A hint of a blush filled his cheekbones as he looked away from me. He cleared his throat and finally focused his gaze on me. "SO, THOUGH WE DID NOT DEFEAT EACH OTHER, I WILL STILL HELP YOU ON YOUR QUEST, AS YOUR… FRIEND?" He ended that last part in a hopeful question, his gaze flicking between my own as he seemed unsure of his status with me.

I smiled warmly at him as I gave another nod. "That sounds wonderful… Thank you Papyrus."

He ever present smile grew in response before he held up a gloved hand. "I SHALL GET STARTED ON BREAKFAST! SANS! MAKE SURE TO HELP OUR DEAREST NEW FRIEND DOWNSTAIRS WHEN SHE FEELS READY!" He turned at that and left the room with renewed pep in his step, his flurry of energy was just so infectious.

"Are you sure you're ready to handle my bro's cookin'?" Sans asked, after his brother's large feet stomped their way downstairs. I looked at him, remembering one of his traps consisting of frozen spaghetti. He caught the flicker of doubt on my face and his chuckle emerged. "He has gotten better since he started cooking lessons, the stove doesn't catch fire anymore."

He let me go at that, making sure that I could stand on my own before he thrust his hands in his pockets. I didn't know if he was joking or not and I decided it was best not to think about it. Instead, I looked around for my sneakers and for my green hoodie. Once I found my belongings and was properly dressed, I turned my attention back to the short skeleton. He had a peculiar look on his face and I had the hunch that he was somewhere far away from here…

"We should head downstairs Sans," I said, bringing his gaze back into focus.

"Huh?" He looked at me and blinked before giving a nod. "Oh yeah. C'mon, the kitchen's this way..."


	14. Chapter 14

_Is it cool if I hold your hand?_

 _Is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?_

 _Do you like my stupid hair?_

 _Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?_

 _I'm just scared of what you think_

 _You make me nervous…_

 **First Date –** Blink-182

Chapter 14: The Date?

"SO, I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT OUR DATE-"

The sound of abrupt choking and coughing had interrupted Papyrus.

The fact that it was me who was choking on the first bite of the spaghetti he had prepared, right when he had said this statement, was nothing more than a coincidence.

After I had managed to swallow my bite and catch my breath, I cast my gaze over to the tall skeleton, a faint warmth in my cheeks giving evidence to the blush now there. "W-what?" I set my fork down on the table as I stared at Papyrus. "What are you talking about?"

We were currently in the dining area of their home. In the center of the table was a pet rock that was currently covered in sprinkles. Papyrus had just emerged from the kitchen carrying plates of spaghetti for Sans and himself when he said this and he had paused after he had set a plate down in front of his brother. He focused his gaze on me, his bright ever present smile never wavering.

"OUR DATE," Papyrus repeated, ignoring the chuckles that were coming from his brother, as he took his own seat and set his plate in front of him. "DURING OUR EPIC BATTLE, YOU TOLD ME THAT MY SCARF WAS NICE ON ME. A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF FLIRTING! NOT THAT I BLAME YOU HU- AH- AMI. I AM VERY GREAT, WHY WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO DATE ME? I WAS THINKING YOU COULD SHOW ME HOW TO BAKE ONE OF YOUR SPAGHETTI PIES, A LAZANEEYA I THINK YOU CALLED IT? IF NOT, THEN I DID TAKE OUT A BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY ON DATING AND I HAD BEEN RESEARCHING ON THE TOPIC WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING AND-"

He just went on and on and on and all I could do was sit there and stare at this sweet and naive skeleton monster. I looked at his brother and blinked at him, the flabbergasted look on my face was telling. Sans didn't say anything but continued chuckling under his breath as he watched me, more than likely waiting to see what I would do. Deciding that this had gone on for much too long, I took in a breath and focused my gaze back on Papyrus. "I didn't flirt with you Papyrus," I said, "I was complimenting your scarf, trying to be nice, but that didn't mean I wanted to go out on a date with you."

He stopped his rambling and looked at me, a slight look of hurt appearing. "SO… YOU DIDN'T LIKE MY SCARF?"

Oh my heavens…

"That is not what I meant," I said, trying to say this delicately without hurting his feelings. "Sweetie, a date is something two people, or monsters, do when they are interested in each other as more than friends. It's the start to something hopefully romantic. I was giving you a compliment, which is what friends do, not flirting. There were no romantic feelings involved. I just wanted to be your friend. Do you see me as a friend or something more?"

Papyrus looked stunned at first and then he frowned as he thought over my question. He looked at me and then at his brother and then back to me. I wondered if I just confused him more.

"WELL, I SEE YOU AS A FRIEND," he began as he continued to study me, "I THOUGHT THAT IF YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH ME THAN THAT MEANT I HAD TO GO OUT ON A DATE WITH YOU. BUT YOU WEREN'T FLIRTING, YOU WERE COMPLIMENTING ME? THAT MEANS YOU SEE ME AS A FRIEND AS WELL?"

I smiled as as I gave him a nod, "Yes Papyrus, I do see you as a friend."

The energy behind his smile had emerged again as he straightened up in his seat. "WOWEE! WE HADN'T EVEN HAD OUR FIRST DATE AND I ALREADY HIT THE FRIEND ZONE!"

I quickly covered my mouth with my hand as a choking laugh escaped me. _Don't laugh at him, don't laugh at him, don't laugh at him…_

Sans' deep laughter erupted from him as he sat back in his chair, throwing an arm over his face to cover it from view. Papyrus looked affronted as he cast his gaze to his brother. "SANS! WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? THIS IS A SERIOUS DISCUSSION WE ARE HAVING HERE." He turned his attention back to me. "I AM SORRY AMI, MY BROTHER TENDS TO HAVE BAD TIMING." He cleared his throat as he started digging into his breakfast spaghetti. "NOW, DATING IS FOR TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN EACH OTHER AS MORE THAN FRIENDS." He took a bite of his spaghetti and chewed thoughtfully as he cast his gaze from me to his brother, who was still chuckling, and back to me.

I couldn't help but stare at the tall skeleton as he chewed his food and swallowed it. Since he was nothing more than bones, I could see the food rolling around between his teeth, getting chewed up before rolling to the back of his throat as if there were an invisible tongue moving it. When he had swallowed, the food completely disappeared from sight… I wondered if their food down here was affected by their magical bodies. They didn't seem to have toilets down here like humans did… In fact, now that I thought about it, I hadn't had the urge for the toilet myself since I left Toriel's…

"I GOT IT!" Papyrus slapped his fork down on the table and pointed a gloved hand at me. "SANS! YOU CAN TAKE AMI OUT ON A DATE!

The sudden coughing that erupted had not been from me this time. I looked over at Sans, who sat on the side of the table to my left, looking as if he had just choked on his own chuckle. He got a hold of himself before he looked at Papyrus, a deep blue hue showing on his cheekbones. "Bro, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SANS?" Papyrus asked as he focused his gaze on his brother. "YOU WERE JUST TELLING ME LAST NIGHT THAT IF YOU WERE TAKING AMI ON A DATE, YOU WOULD TAKE HER TO THE WATERFALLS TO SEE THE ECHO FLOWERS. REMEMBER? I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF A PLACE TO TAKE AMI AND COULDN'T THINK OF ANYTHING SO I ASKED YOU AND-"

"I gotta get to work," said Sans as he quickly got up from the table, the blue hue on his cheekbones had gotten even deeper. He didn't look at me as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his deep blue hoodie.

"SANS?" His brother called out him but the shorter skeleton didn't say a word as he walked through the living room and left the house, the front door slamming behind him.

I winced at the loud boom that echoed through the living space and I looked at the tall skeleton with a gentle smile. Something was going on with Sans and whatever it was, his brother was not privy to it. I couldn't help but feel guilty. The topic of dating seemed to have a hit a sore spot for Sans… I wondered if it had brought up some unwanted memories? Did he lose someone special to him? I could understand that feeling all too well.

"I'll go talk to him Papyrus," I said as I got up from the table as well. "Do you know where he's headed?"

"HE HAS ANOTHER SENTRY POST EAST OUT OF TOWN, DEEPER INTO THE CAVES ON THE WAY TO WATERFALL," he said in reply, the sad look on his face was not one that I liked. "I HOPE I DIDN'T MAKE HIM TOO UPSET… HE'S NEVER LOOKED LIKE THAT BEFORE… SO SAD..."

"Do you think..." I could feel the blush in my cheeks as I paused, trying to gather my thoughts, before I looked to the front door. "Do you think he would've really wanted to go out on a date?" I looked at Papyrus. "I like your brother. He's funny and sweet." I had to make this right. I didn't like the sight of both skeleton brothers being upset but seeing Sans had cut something deep in me. Sans has been nothing but helpful since I first met him and I knew I needed his help further if I wanted to get to my son in one piece. It also helped that I finally acknowledged my growing affection to this charming and lazy skeleton. After the battle with Papyrus, it was like my very soul had focused itself right onto Sans from the moment he touched me...

"DO YOU LIKE MY BROTHER AS MORE THAN A FRIEND?" Papyrus asked, his gaze focusing on me as he studied with renewed interest.

I looked at him in turn, mulling the answer to that question over in my head, before I have a single nod. "I… do," I said, the answer that came out surprising even me.

Papyrus blinked before the frown that had been on his face disappeared. "THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU DIDN'T WANT TO DATE ME! YOU ALREADY WANTED TO GO OUT ON A DATE WITH MY BROTHER! THOUGH I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD, HE'S A LAZYBONES THAT SLEEPS ALL DAY..."

I couldn't explain the reason why either but there it was as plain as day. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me. "He makes me laugh," was all I could say in response.

"HE DOES?" Papyrus looked absolutely aghast at the thought. "WELL… YOU'RE STILL MY FRIEND, EVEN IF YOU HAVE BAD TASTE IN JOKES."

I could only chuckle as I looked at the table. "I'm sorry I didn't finish my plate, would you mind if I pack it up in my basket? I could take it for the journey."

"REALLY?" He looked absolutely delighted as he got up quickly and reached over to snatch my plate before I could grab it. "I'LL GET IT PACKED UP NICE FOR YOU! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM A GENIUS AT ORGANIZING!" He disappeared into the kitchen before I could get another word in. I simply smiled and went to get my basket from the guest room upstairs.

-o-

After Papyrus had packed the spaghetti in some Tupperware (Mettaton branded and approved) and stuffed it into my basket among the other items, he had quickly given me his cellphone number. He was amazed to discover my smart phone and, after discovering that it did get a signal down here with whatever technology they used, he programmed it into my phone. "SO THAT WAY YOU CAN CALL ME WHENEVER YOU WANT! AS FRIENDS!"

I had given him my number as well and, with a call you later exchanged, I made my way east out of the town of Snowdin. The very same path on which I had my battle with Papyrus was still filled with fog. As I made my way down the path, it began to get warmer and warmer until finally the fog lifted and the snow began to disappear. Ahead of me was a large dark opening leading further into the caverns. Taking a deep breath, I set my basket down and pulled off my green hoodie, already beginning to feel the warmth seeping in and making me sweat. Stuffing my hoodie into the basket, I just barely managing to close the lid and latch it closed. After that, I straightened out my blouse as well, which was a paler shade of green than my hoodie.

Picking up my basket, I proceeded down the path and deeper into the caverns. I kept an eye out for a sentry post as I made my way down the path that followed a river. Several waterfalls fell from above me, splashing down to the river and helping to continue in its flow. As I walked, I noticed several large blocks of ice were floating down the river only to disappear around the bend, away from where the path led. I kept on walking until the path led me to what looked like a corridor. Once I made it to this corridor, it was to find two monsters lingering around the area. One looked to be a child, a little yellow reptile with spikes on its head and a wearing a yellow striped shirt that looked like it had no arms. I wondered if the monster kid itself did not have arms or if it was just the shirt itself…

The other monster was an adult monster wearing a sleeveless turtle neck with a gold fish emblazoned on the front. He was standing on his own fins and smiling away as he watched me walk by with interest. I could only assume he was watching me because his head was turning as I passed him, his eyes were hidden behind a pair of shades. I simply smiled at the monster before I focused my attention back to the corridor. The walls looked like they had been shaped and formed over the years by the dripping water from above. Several glowing crystals were imbedded in the walls, either by the monsters or a natural occurrence. Up ahead, snuggled cozily against a corner of the corridor, its roof covered in snow and looking much the same as the one before it, was the sentry post Papyrus had pointed me to.

Behind the counter of said sentry post was my favorite skeleton, snoring away on the job. My affection for this monster had seemed to grow since I had last seen him and I couldn't help the smile on my lips as I walked over to the sentry post and stood in front of him. He was still sleeping, his eye sockets closed, as he maintained a well balanced pose of leaning his chin in his hand. Not being able to help myself, I reached out and knocked on the counter to get his attention.

His snoring stopped and he slowly opened one eye socket. "Who's there?"

"Pasture," I said, a bright smile playing on my lips as his gaze focused on me.

A flicker of something passed his face before he closed his eye socket let out a yawn. "Pasture who?"

"Pasture bedtime, isn't it?"

His eye sockets snapped open and his gaze focused on me, the look in those pin pricks was enough to make my heart almost stop in surprise. It was so intense… His gaze was still focused on me and the fact that he didn't laugh made me feel self conscious. I shuffled from one foot to the other as a deep blush filled my cheeks. "I guess there are some jokes even you won't find funny, huh?"

As if a switch had flipped, his entire demeanor changed from intense and focused to laid back and nonchalant. "Heh… Good one snow angel..." was all he said as he slumped himself back over his counter. "Sorry, can't talk much right now, I gotta work. I'll catch you later..." He closed his eyes and apparently went back to snoozing.

I could be mistaken but he seemed to be even more aloof than he had been this morning. I didn't know what I had said but something told me that joke I just gave him was more than just bad… Had he heard it before from the person who he missed? The memory I had experienced at Grillby's flashed to the forefront of my mind. I felt a stab of empathy in my heart of hearts and even more, dare I admit it, a twinge of envy. I envied this person who held this monster's heart, this person whose memory I had somehow became privy to. There was something about him that pulled at me, my strange affection for him making no sense but there it was. I was envious of this unknown person, be they monster or human, who held his affections. There was something there… Something missing… It was important, I knew it was… Something to do with him, with my son, with this place...

Not truly thinking about what I was doing, I leaned over the counter and pressed my warm lips against his brow. That snapped him to attention faster than the knock knock joke did and his elbow slipped, his chin connecting heavily with the wood of the counter. A deep blue blush was in his cheekbones as he let out a groan, straightening himself out while he rubbed his chin. "W-what was that for?"

The blush was in my own cheeks but determination was filling me, some unknown feeling welling up from deep within me as the sense of deja vu strengthened. "That was to get your attention," I said with bright smile. I set my basket on the counter and leaned on it, "So, about that date, I was thinking that taking a look at those flowers would be lovely. Are you going on a break soon?"

"Look snow angel, I get it, I'm not-" he paused and looked at me, his gaze studying me intensely. "What?"

I blinked at him as he studied me. I simply leaned my chin against my closed fist as I smiled at him. "You, me, a date? I rather liked the idea but if you are really busy..."

"T-that's my… But I always... I-" was all he could get out in reply, the look of utter shock was no joke. He genuinely looked surprised at the thought of me wanting to go on a date with him. I didn't understand what he was trying to say but I didn't comment on it. I simply waited for him to say yes or no.

It took him a minute as he studied me, looking for something, for what I don't know but I'm sure the warmth and affection in my gaze was a given. He must have found what he was looking for because he leaned forward over the counter and reached out a finger to gently tuck an errant curl behind my ear. "Are you sure, snow angel?"

I shivered at his touch, I could sense the magic rolling off of him. He was strong, much more stronger than he let on. The instinctual part of me had always been well aware of this fact and I couldn't help but lean into his touch. "Always for you," was all I could say.

The answer had touched something deep in him because the pin pricks of his gaze disappeared and a deep blue hue appeared in his cheekbones once more. I wondered if he sensed the same things I did… That all of this was becoming achingly familiar…

"G-gimme a minute, I'll be back in a jiff." He pulled away from me almost hesitantly before he turned and disappeared on the spot. I wasn't surprised at the sight of it. I always knew he had a unique way getting around this place. I grabbed my basket and turned around, my gaze taking in the sight of the corridor and of the monster kid kicking rocks into the waterfall nearby. A few moments later, Sans appeared right in front of me. He was wearing the same style of clothing as before- his blue hoodie, his black shorts- but they looked like they had been washed and dried, no wrinkle in sight. He was even wearing shoes, a pair of sneakers with the laces untied, but it was a step up from the pink slippers.

"Just had to let the boss know I was taking the rest of the day off. Ya ready?" he asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, the warmth in his gaze and the nervousness in his ever present smile made me feel slightly better. Whatever his memories held of this unknown person who held his affections, at least he was giving me a chance. I couldn't help my smile as I gave a nod and tucked my basket into the crook of my elbow. I think, that after everything I had been through since Sully had disappeared, it would be all right for me to take a moment and do something that made me… really happy. Just this once, I didn't want to feel the guilt, the blame, nor the sadness. I wanted to be… happy.

"Lead the way."


	15. Chapter 15

_I cried, for I didn't think it could be true  
That you and I might have always known one another…_

 **Fellow Feeling –** Porter Robinson

Chapter 15: The Waterfall Standstill

Sans had taken me by the hand and, before I realized what he was doing, he had transported us to a new area.

As I looked around this new area, I was blown away by the sheer quiet beauty of this place. Surrounding us was a field of luminescent blue flowers that seemed to be whispering all at once, it sounded like a sea of hushed voices. A few glowing blue streams were winding their way through this field, bunches of water sausages were growing at various places along their banks. Further ahead us, a waterfall was feeding these streams, cascading over the cavern walls that were imbedded with the same glowing crystals from the corridor. I glanced up out of habit, a muscle memory if anything, not realizing what I was looking for until I saw it. The cavern's ceilings were imbedded with hundreds if not thousands of these glowing blue crystals, making it reminiscent of a night sky. Between the waterfall, the streams, the flowers and the crystals this entire area was filled with an ethereal, otherworldly, light.

"Oh..." was all I could say, my wonder and awe quite evident in my voice. I was turning my head this way and that, trying to get a good look at everything, trying to imprint it into memory. Throughout the entire time I had been taking in the new surroundings, Sans had not let go of my hand. His grip on my hand had tightened as I turned around completely, catching the sight of more waterfalls behind us. "Oh Sans… This place is beautiful..." I turned my gaze to look back at him as my smile grew.

His ever present smile seemed to be filled with warmth and there was this far off look in his eye as he looked around at the scenery before focusing his gaze back on me. He gently ran a thumb over the back of my hand before he realized what he was doing. His eye sockets widened just a bit as he quickly released my hand and stuffed his own back into the pocket of his hoodie. A deep blue blush was on his cheekbones as he turned away from me and started to walk off.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I followed him as he began to walk through the field of whispering flowers, passing the streams, crossing a few wooden bridges, and not once saying a word to me. I was beginning to worry, I never did like it when Sans was quiet or serious. It was unlike him. The part of me, deep within my heart of hearts, knew this was how he often was when he was alone… I had stopped wondering how I knew these little tidbits of info. The fact that I could recall memories of my son journeying through this place when I touched the various twinkling lights I dubbed as "save points" was a given that maybe I was privy to memories of other residents of this place. Echoes of people who knew this monster better than I did.

As I followed him, I noticed he was leading us to a secluded area. The whispering flowers were growing less here and a single glowing stream followed beside us on the right. The path here seemed to be less worn as we went along and soon was nothing more than dark blades of grass and an occasional whispering flower. There were several mushroom-like plants that were glowing with the same soft blue light like the streams, they were taller than me and could have almost passed for glowing trees. Finally, Sans came to a stop in a clearing that was nearly surrounded by cavern walls save for a small pool on the right in which the stream fed into. There were more water sausages here at the banks, a couple of the mushroom trees and several of the whispering flowers dotted around the center of this clearing.

Sans didn't say anything as he stared at this clearing, his gaze focused on the flowers ahead. I looked at him and then at the flowers, confusion filling me. He finally looked at me and he studied for a moment before he gestured his head toward the flowers. He still hadn't said a word…

Taking in a breath, I took after his example and did not say a word. Instead, I turned and walked toward the center of the clearing where the flowers whispered away. As I drew nearer to the closest one, a familiar voice caught my ear, one I hadn't heard in so long.

" _Mommy would love these flowers… I wish I could take one to her..."_

My heart nearly stuttered as Sully's voice, my _son's voice_ , came out of the flower. It was an echo of my son from when he had been here. I had to smother myself to keep from making a sound, knowing that if I did, my voice would erase all trace of this echo. I was trembling as I listened to this flower say over and over again those simple little words that had been my son's. Here was real proof that my son had been here. The save points had been memories, faint images that my own mind could have conjured up, but this flower… Hi _voice_ was speaking, a sweet sound I had not heard in several years.

The tears were streaming down my face as I moved to the next flower and his little voice came as clear as if he were standing next to me, this time the sobs could be heard in his voice. " _I-I w-wish I can see Mommy and Daddy again… I w-want to go home…"_

" _Mommy, I-I miss you… Please c-come find me..."_

" _Mommy, I'm scared..."_

" _...I-I have to be brave… Mommy and Daddy need me… I have to keep going."_

His voice continued to surround me until I my heart could no longer take it. I was trembling so badly that my knees gave out from beneath me and I fell to the ground, keeping my hands smothered over my mouth as the tears silently fell. I stared at the last flower as it whispered to me, " _I love you Mommy… I promise I'll be home soon..."_

I closed my eyes as I felt a familiar arm wrap around my shoulders and pull me close. Soon, my son's voice faded away and I felt a slight distortion around me until the sound of hushed whispers once more surrounded me. I opened my eyes and looked around, finding us back in the original field we had started in. I turned my gaze up to look at Sans, who was smiling down at me though the look on his face was a mixture of regret, sadness, wariness…

I wiped the tears from my cheeks as I sniffled before quickly turning around, still in my kneeled position, and throwing my arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "Thank you!"

He stumbled back from the force of my embrace and both of his arms reached around my waist to hold me steady. I squeezed him tightly before I pulled away. "Thank you Sans," I said, "You don't know how much… I can't…" I shook my head before I leaned forward to press my lips against his grin.

It had been a quick peck, an overload of emotions that my brain could not process all at once, and so I had done the only thing I could think to do in thanks.

That one simple action was all it took and a spark ignited.

A flash and then another one fell into place...

-o-

" _How did you know it was him?"_

 _The arm around me tightened and pulled me close, I felt a huff a breath over my curls as his magic rolled over me in comforting warmth. We were sitting on a bench beside a single echo flower, a secluded place that was on the bank of a glowing stream. The echo flower repeated my question._

" _I spend a lot of time in this place," he said after a thoughtful moment, "I listen. That clearing was too out of the way for those echoes to have come from one of us recently. When you told me about… I thought it might a coincidence but it was too big a one to ignore." He shrugged, his shoulder jostling my head that was nestled comfortably on it._

 _I reached out and took his hand in mine and intertwined our fingers. I studied the contrasting digits, one overlapping the other. I felt his gaze on me and all I could do was smile as I allowed my magic to flow over him, a simple flowing green light. His hand tightened around mine and his own magic emerged, a deep blue that intermingled with my green._

 _It was a beautiful sight._

" _Thank you..."_

-o-

I came to myself, a soft gasp escaping my lips as I found myself staring into Sans' wide gaze. A deep blush was in his cheekbones but I was sure he could see something in my startled gaze, a spark of recognition. His own face had lit up with… hope? Yes, it was there. Something I had not seen on his face thus far. Hope was there in his gaze, a cautious hope that made my own heart soar. I didn't know what was going on, I couldn't recall who that memory had belonged to. Yet, I remembered the magic, I remembered the feeling…

Love...

His grin trembled once as his hold on me tightened and he took in a breath to say something when his gaze darted to my left, focusing on something behind me. The light pricks of his gaze had disappeared in a flash and a single glowing eye in his left socket appeared, filtering between blue and yellow. Before I realized what was happening, there was a distortion and we had switched places. I was now in the spot he had been in and he was standing in front me where I had been before.

In front of him, a single glowing blue spear had stopped just inches from his face.

Right where I had been.

-o-

(A/n) Special thanks to guest reviewer Kaleia for always leaving a review. You keep me inspired to write.

Also please forgive any mistakes, these stories are unbetad. I will go back and fix them as I go along.


	16. Chapter 16

_Since you've awakened her again_

 _She depends on you_

 _This girl who's slept a hundred years has something_

 _after all.._

 **Sad Machine –** Porter Robinson

Chapter 16: The Memories?

The moment the spear had disappeared, another one had come in its place in the opposite direction of where the other had been. I was once more moved out of the way by Sans' quick reflexes and teleporting ability, the spear flying past me and, once again, missing.

Sans kept a firm grip on my hand as he stood in front of me, glaring in the direction of the source of the attack. I followed his gaze and found the sight of a tall humanoid monster decked out in full armor. A long plume of deep red hair emerged from the top of the helmet that hid their face from view, flowing over one shoulder. I could have sworn I saw a piercing glow emerge from the visor of their right eye.

This monster was strong, of that there was no doubt. In fact, if Sans had not been here to move me out of the way, I was quite sure I would have been skewered by the very first spear…

…

There it was again.

That inkling.

That very same feeling of deja vu that I had been through this before.

Not exactly like this, not in this way, but something similar had happened in a place that was hot and glowing. The end result had not been pretty because… because…

I felt my breath hitch as the panic began to set it. I knew this. I knew this monster. I knew…

 _...another one fell into place..._

-o-

 _So much pain…_

" _Ami!"_

 _I… didn't think it was possible for a human body to bleed this much…_

 _Heh…_

" _Ami! Hang in there!"_

 _Strong hands were holding me upright and I could barely make out the blue glow that surrounded them._

" _Don't you dare die on me! You understand?" The hands tightened and I was pulled into a fierce embrace. My face was smothered against warm fabric that smelled of home… I took in a deep breath, trying to commit the scent to memory, trying to focus and hold onto my only friend in this place. The only one who seemed to care about me and my missing son. He had always been so sweet… Acting as if he and I had always known one another…_

 _I did like the nickname he gave me._

 _Ami…_

" _Sans! Why are you holding that human?! Let them go! They're the final soul Asgore needs! We'll finally be free!"_

 _That voice was new… Were they the one who threw the spear? I couldn't tell where the spear had come from and I couldn't see… Everything was getting fuzzy…_

 _I felt his hand reach up at that moment and gently cradled the back of my head. I felt him lift me up as if I weighed nothing. He was strong for such a short monster…_

" _Sans, what are y-"_

" _Undyne," he said, his deep voice lacking any of its usual humor. "Unless you're going to help me save her… You better keep outta my way."_

 _I tried to focus on his face, tried to see him one last time. I struggled to reach my hand up. The warmth of my own blood did not matter. The slowing of my heartbeat did not matter._

 _When I felt his face, I did not feel anything but bone… and tears._

 _"Ami? It's all right, I've got you. I'm getting you some help."_

 _Love._

 _He said that to me once on the bridge._

 _He loved me._

 _Even though I didn't remember._

 _He remembered._

 _He remembered and he loved me._

 _He… loved…_

 _Loves…_

 _Me…_

 _A human…_

 _I didn't believe it till now…_

 _How could a monster and human learn to love one another?_

 _I didn't believe it…_

 _Until now…_

 _Until…_

 _Un… til…_

" _Ami? Ami! Don't close your eyes!"_

 _Now…_

-o-

My breath came out in a gasping sob as instinct took over and my magic flowed out of me in a wave of deep green light. It surrounded us, encircling Sans and me, until it solidified into a green sphere that crackled with light. We were encased in a strong barrier and the moment it appeared, the human hunting monster let out a fierce battle cry. Blue spears began to appear from thin air, surrounding us on all sides until I felt my anger rise. I was not going to die today…

Not again.

I had to get free.

I had to save my son.

Something in me sparked and snapped as I slowly got to my feet, using Sans' hand as leverage. He looked back at at me in surprise, the question in his gaze. "Ami?"

I let go of his hand and placed my own hands on his shoulders, giving him a squeeze in reassurance, as I focused my magic. I felt the familiar tug of being pulled into that pocket of time and space when battles commenced. My soul emerged from my body and floated in front of Sans and me, a deep green heart-shaped light that pulsed with blue light on the edges. In the right corner of it, a faint white light could be seen, looking as if it were trying to break through the green. I barely paid it any attention as my gaze darted to each spear that surrounded us. A quick count and I let my magic go, dozens of streams of deep green light that shot out from the center of my chest. They shot out through the barrier that surrounded us and streaked toward the spears. One after another, the green lights hit each spear and encased them in a green bubble. I took in a breath as the monster let loose the few spears they still had control over. They banged harmlessly against the barrier while the others were remained where they were. I focused my magic further, the bubbles that surrounded the spears began to shrink and conform to the shape of the spears themselves. A moment later, each spear that had been encased in a green bubble was now under my control.

I could feel my body trembling from the effort of using such magic as I made each spear turn right around back to their owner. It was at this time that Sans reached up to take hold of my hands that were still on his shoulders.

"A-Ami? What are you-?"

He didn't get a chance to finish his question as I let loose the spears. They shot away from us and, one after another, they imbedded themselves into the ground around the monster until they were in a jail of their own making. The spears were made of magic, they wouldn't hold the monster for long once I released them from my control, but it would buy us enough time to escape. I could hear the monster trying to yell at us as they tried to find a way out but it was hard to make out any words.

I could feel my body trembling more as I leaned against him for support. "Sans… Take me home."

He didn't need telling twice and I felt everything distort around us as he took us by one of his shortcuts to escape the battle…

-o-

Home was warm and safe.

Home was familiar to me, even though I couldn't recall for the life of me how I could feel this way about Sans' and Papyrus' house. I had only been here once before.

Sans had let me go the moment we appeared in the familiar guest room of their home. I stumbled just a bit and he was quick to reach out a steady hand. He slowly moved to help me to the bed. I sat down as I placed a hand against my head, my magic was still thrumming along by body. There were streams of green light that emerged from my finger tips and crackled in the air with each movement. I was fighting off a headache as I looked around the room, a slight look of confusion on my face. "Sans," I said, "This isn't home…"

Sans was trembling as he thrust his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, the white pinpricks of his gaze studying me. "Ami… This is the Underground, remember? Your home is on the surface."

I looked at him and I shook my head as I dropped my hand to rest it on the bed. "I know that," I said, "I'm stuck down here with you. This room isn't mine though. I… live in… your room?" I trailed off as the confusion settled again and I looked at my hands, watching the magic erratically crackle and spark from my fingers. They began to tremble as I looked at the monster who my soul called out with the very fiber of its being. "Sans… What's happening to me?" I glanced down at the picnic basket that had been hanging from my arm, forgotten until now, and I moved to set it aside. My hand trembled as I set the basket on the pillow of the bed before thrusting them into the frizzled curls of my bun. I curled into myself as the panic began to set in. "These memories… I don't know where they're coming from. I don't remember any of this happening to me before..."

I was trembling more as my thoughts went round and round in circles, trying to find some semblance of sanity. All I had wanted was to find and free my son from this place. This strange place that triggered these strange memories…

"Hey, it's all right," he said as he moved over to take my hands in his. "It's OK. We'll figure this out."

I looked at him and a slight twinge emerged as that inkling threatened to come forth.

 _He remembered and he loved me…_

Dread began to settle within the very depths of my soul as I looked at this monster. I looked at him for the first time since we had met and I could now, finally, understand the far off looks he had on his face those times we had talked before. The constant focused looks he gave me after certain conversations we've had.

He remembered.

"Sans," I began, "How many times have we had this conversation?"

The pinpricks of his gaze disappeared and there was nothing more than the black of his eye sockets. His hold over my hands began to tremble before they tightened to the point of almost being painful. He didn't respond at first and I was afraid that he was lost in whatever memories he had. Finally, his gaze returned and his ever present grin threatened to waver. "This… is the first time," he said, "You've never hinted that you could remember before."

There it was. The confirmation that I needed to hear.

These memories, the constant feeling of deja vu...

"I had died before," I said, "The memory came when that monster in armor-" I caught myself, that part of the memory was not easy. I had been killed before. It had been painful and horrible. I took in breath and continued on. "You were there, trying to save me. How many times had I-?"

"Once," he said, "Only once." The frown could be heard in his voice. "I always make sure you're safe. This time was the first time she appeared there in the field. She never comes that way. For some reason, things are… different this time."

Understanding dawned on me. "How many times have we've been through this?" I asked, a part of me still could not believe that this was happening. That I was stuck in this loop with no memories of it even occurring before now.

Sans had not let go of my hands throughout this entire conversation. Instead, he pulled me closer to him, his fingers intertwining with my own as his own blue magic reacted with the crackles of my green. "Too many times," he said, "I… can't explain it easily." He looked at me and his smile seemed to be sad. "I never used to remember. In the beginning, it was you who remembered. Each time the world reset, for some reason, you were the one who had the saved memories. Your magic seemed to protect you from whatever effected the rest of us. Over the course of I don't know how many resets, you figured out that I was the only one who had an idea as to what was going on. You came to me for help. It took some time. Each time the world reset, you had to find a way to convince me all over again to help you find a way to stop the resets." He paused at this and I could see that the memories of those times were playing through his mind, he had that same far off look in his eyes from before.

I couldn't help but wonder what kind of ways I used to convince him…

"I think it would be easier if I could show you," he said, after he focused his gaze back on me and reluctantly let my hands go. "But you need to get some sleep. Your magic levels are low after that little stunt you pulled on Undyne." His grin seemed to grow as he stuffed his hands back in his pockets. "She's not gonna be happy when she gets here."

I frowned at that and looked at the door, a part of me wanting to go to sleep in Sans' room, but I ignored that part. I didn't know how deep these memories ran, how many times we had lived through this, and I didn't trust that instinctual part of myself right now that wanted to sleep in our "real" bed.

A flash of bundled up sheets on a single mattress, a messy room, and the emotional cocktail of the constant loving frustration of cleaning up after a certain skeleton ran through my mind. Another hint of a memory that I was not privy to at the moment. I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Just have Papyrus keep her busy. He's good at that." I let loose a yawn and reached over to move the basket from the pillow to the floor. "I should sleep…"

"No worries snow angel," he said as he turned, about to disappear using one of his shortcuts.

Without warning, I moved off of the bed and reached out to grab his arm. He paused and turned to look at me, the question evident in his gaze. I didn't say a word as I pulled his right hand from the pocket of his hoodie with my left. I intertwined our fingers, one over another, as I studied the contrasting digits. The green of my magic flared and surrounded our joined hands before it flowed up his arm and toward the center of his chest. A soft gasp escaped him as my magic briefly touched his soul and I shuddered at the sudden pleasure that emerged from the tenuous link that had formed between us. I leaned forward to press my lips against his brow before I slowly released his hand, the magic just as slowly releasing from him.

He didn't say a word as he stared up at me, the deep blue blush in his cheekbones evident to the fact that what I had done had been very intimate. He looked caught off guard and I didn't know why I had done what I did let alone how.

No.

I was wrong.

I knew why.

A part of me was remembering something…

He barely managed to stutter out a see ya later before he quickly disappeared from sight. I simply stood there in the middle of the guest room, unsure of what to make of all that had happened so far.

I was supposed to be freeing my son…

How had such a seemingly simple mission become so complicated?


	17. Chapter 17

_Are you home?_

 _Have you timed this badly?_

 _Have we met before?_

 **Have We Met Before** – Tom Rosenthal

-o-

Chapter 17: Been Through Before

Waking up to the sound of loud banging from downstairs was not the alarm clock I would have chosen.

Yet, it was and I came to the realm of the living with some reluctance.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I got up from the bed, letting loose a long yawn as my brain struggled to keep up my body. I sat there for a few moments, staring at the glass doors that led out to the patio, while the memories of everything that had happened thus far replayed itself in my mind.

That's right.

I was in Sans' and Papyrus' house.

Sans had taken me to see the echo flowers- a date if there ever was one- and I had heard my son's voice…

Then that monster in armor had attacked us and, after a quick show of defensive magic that I did not know I was capable of, Sans and I retreated to his house. It was here that I discovered the why to the sense of déjà vu I had been having during my time here: I had been through this before.

Countless times before.

I had _died_ before.

It was still a lot to take in…

Yet, through it all, Sans had been there to help me.

He had been my rock throughout this entire journey so far and, despite the craziness of it all, he was still there.

It was this simple thought that kept the panic from overwhelming me and instead I took the time to get up from the bed and get my black trainers back on. My picnic basket was on the dresser and my green hoodie was folded up on top of it. Leaving it be, I left the room and made my way downstairs, where the source of the loud banging that woke me up made itself known.

The front door to the home was barricaded by a series of tall bones – yes, bones – and Papyrus was standing in front of it with his arms crossed, his usual ever present, cheerful smile turned down in a deep frown. Sans was standing right by the staircase, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and a foot cocked behind the other. He was still wearing his sneakers, the laces untied. At the sound of my descending footsteps, he had glanced my way and his ever present grin was filled with humor and warmth. He held a finger against his grin – indicating to be quiet – before he gave me a wink for good measure.

The blush was in my cheeks before I could stop it as I came to a stop beside him. In retaliation to his charming ways, I reached out brush my fingers along his skull. The reaction he gave was what I hoped for: A deep blue hue playing across his cheekbones. He reached up to grab my hand with his and held it tight, focusing his gaze on his brother.

It was there again.

That unspoken familiarity and attraction that always lingered.

Now I knew why.

We had danced this dance so many times before... even though I could not recall.

The banging continued in its incessant manner and finally the yelling started.

"Papyrus! Open this door!"

"I WILL NOT," said Papyrus, his arms were also crossed but he stood tall. The tone of his voice could be described as disapproving. "NOT UNTIL YOU PROMISE YOU WON'T MAKE A MESS! WE HAVE A GUEST AND I DO NOT WANT MY NEW FRIEND THINKING MY HOME IS A PIG STY. I JUST FINISHED REORGANIZING ALL OF THE SPAGHETTI IN THE FRIDGE AND-"

"Open up!" The voice came again, this time the banging becoming more insistent. Now that was I was closer, I could hear that the voice was female in origin. A bit rough from the constant yelling but it definitely had a higher pitched tone. It was familiar too. I heard this voice before…

"Sans came back here! I know he did! And he has the human with him!" The banging kept on going. The force behind it was so strong that I was sure if it weren't for the tall bones the door would have given way a long time ago.

"NOT UNTIL YOU PROMISE!" said Papyrus.

The banging stopped and there was silence before an angry, "Fine!" huffed through.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Papyrus held a gloved hand to his nonexistent ear.

"I promise I won't make a mess in your house!"

Papyrus huffed and tapped a booted foot. "AND?"

There was more silence and then, "…and I won't take the human prisoner…"

I looked down at Sans, a slight look of alarm surely on my face. If this was who I think it was, I was in no shape to face them again. He looked up at me and he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry snow angel. She's not gonna break a promise to Papyrus." He looked at the door. "And she won't so long as I have a say in the matter."

"Is this another thing we've been through before?" I asked, moving closer so that way I could lean against him.

I heard his deep chuckle, the sound of it vibrating from him. "In various places and times… Undyne is very determined. After the first time… When you…" He paused at this, took in a breath and slowly shook his head. "I promised never again."

I didn't need him to explain, a part of me already knew this. The part of me that couldn't recall any memories but the faint echoes were there.

Papyrus had removed the bones from the door, the bones floating off to the side to lean against the wall. He then went to the open the door to reveal another monster waiting just outside, a fierce frown visible even from where I could see. The monster looked like a humanoid female with fishy attributes. She was tall, blue toned with visible scales that were covered by a sleeveless black tank top, a pair of jeans and red boots on her feet. She had long red hair tied up in a ponytail, fins where ears on a human would be, no nose and mouth full of razor sharp teeth that was shaped in a forced grin.

A wave of familiarity hit me as I watched this new monster who was Undyne, knowing full well that this was the monster in the armor from before and the one who had… killed me before.

Yet, despite this fact, there was something about her…

Friendship came to mind- an echo of something… Laughter and… cartoons?

It faded away before I could fully grasp it and the look on my face was puzzled. She made her way into the house and came to a stop beside Papyrus, who closed the door after her. She had her hands in the pockets of her jeans, a frustrated look on her face as she looked at Papyrus before she turned her gaze to Sans and finally to me.

Seeing me stand there, she grew tense at once but something seemed to click in her, I could see it in her eyes. The frustrated look gave way to confusion but she didn't voice the obvious feeling I knew she had to be going through: Déjà vu.

"Hey Undyne," said Sans, his pose still nonchalant as he intertwined his fingers with mine before stuffing both of our hands in the pocket of his blue hoodie. It must have looked weird but I wasn't complaining. I honestly liked it.

"UNDYNE, HAVE YOU MET MY GOOD FRIEND, AMI?" said Papyrus, his demeanor all at once open and friendly. "SHE IS A GREAT WARRIOR! THOUGH NOT LIKE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT NOT ALL OF US CAN BE PERFECT."

Undyne glanced at the tall skeleton then his shorter brother before looking at me. " I…" She shook her head in confusion. "This whole thing…" She looked at me and pointed my way. "Your magic, the way you used my own spears against me. I've seen it before… but that's impossible. You're a human! I've never met you in my life!" She studied me even more and the doubt could be seen in her eyes. "Right…?"

I looked at Sans in question, having no answer to give. He knew what was going on best out of all of us. I had only been expecting to find my son… and it somehow turned into this epic journey that I had taken not only once but many times before. The why was the reason that eluded us at this time.

"I think," I said, breaking the tense silence as I looked at Undyne. "A good, strong mean and drink is the answer." I looked at Sans and gave a smile. "Mind if we head to Grillby's?"

"Oh snow angel," he said, "That's the best thing I've heard today."

Tackling this mystery on an empty stomach was not the best of ideas and I really needed some food in me before I could even think about the strangeness that was the Underground. So long as Undyne kept her promise and not try to kill me again, I might be able to figure something out.

-o-

(A/n) -=cracks fingers=- ok, just dipping my feet back into this story, let's see what happens.


	18. Chapter 18

_I think I told you this before…_

 **Déjà vu**

-o-

Chapter 18: Remembering

Grillby's seemed more crowded than usual.

Perhaps it was because of the evening hours that there were more patrons in the bar than the last time I had been there.

Sans had not let go of my hand as we walked from the house and down the snow path toward the bar. He had led the way with Papyrus and Undyne taking up the rear. Papyrus had been talking nonstop about is disapproval of said establishment on the way over, voicing his complaints about the smoky atmosphere and greasy food, but the moment we had entered he had quieted down. He had flicked his gaze over the owner's way; no doubt wanting to avoid the wrath of Grillby should said owner overhear the negative feedback.

The din of conversation had died down the moment we had entered and all eyes had fallen upon us. There seemed to be this uneasy tension that filled the large established as the gazes of the patrons flicked between the famous head of the Royal Guard and me. After a tense heartbeat, Undyne had taken the initiative and moved over to the closest booth on the right. She slammed her fist down on the table top, scaring the group of monsters that had been sitting there, and gave a very large and vicious smile. "We need this booth. Mind scattering?"

The monsters didn't even hesitate as they quickly did as asked and made their way to other tables or to the bar. Undyne turned around to face us and pointed to the now empty booth. "Sit."

"You got it, boss," said Sans, his ever present grin never dimming as he walked over to the booth, pulling me behind him. I followed with little hesitation through my gaze had flicked over to Grillby in curiosity. The last I had seen the monster, he had told he I could trust Sans, that Sans would not let me get hurt again…

With the realization that I had lived through this journey countless times, it made sense now. Grillby was one of the few monsters aware of what was going on with the strange resets of this world. When his gaze met mine, and seeing the firm grip that Sans had on my hand, he gave a slight nod. He didn't have any facial features since he was a monster made of fire, no eyes to be seen behind the opaque glasses he wore, but I couldn't help but feel as if he looked pleased. I gave a quick flash of a smile in return and a little wave with my free hand before moving to sit in the booth with Sans.

Undyne had scooted into the seat across from us before Sans glanced at Papyrus, who had been about to sit next to the fish woman. "Hey Paps, would ya mind placing an order for some burger and fries for us?"

Papyrus froze before his face lit up; it seemed the thought of doing something for his brother never failed to make him happy. "I SURELY CAN DEAR BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE BACK SHORTLY WITH FOOD AND DRINKS!" He snapped a quick salute to Undyne before scurrying off to the bar to talk to Grilby, his long limbs nearly knocking into nearby monsters.

As I watched him go, I couldn't help the giggle that rose up out of me; my affection for the tall skeleton monster was deep. He was just too adorable. I felt Sans squeeze my hand and when I glanced at him, his gaze had flicked my way before he gave a quick wink. The warmth in my heart had bubbled up and I couldn't stop the heat from rising into my cheeks.

"That should keep him busy awhile," said Sans as he focused his gaze on Undyne and the grin on his face lacked any of its usual humor. "You have questions. I might have answers." The pinpricks of his eye sockets had disappeared and a flash of a yellow and blue glow appeared in his left socket. I trembled as I felt the rush of magical energy erupt from his stocky frame, a hint of a blue glow visible around his form. "You promised my brother you wouldn't take her prisoner but killing her… You made no promise there. I'm sure you won't hesitate to kill her if given the chance so I'll only say this once: This pretty lady sitting beside me is under my protection. I made a promise to always keep her safe and you know I'm a monster of my word. She stays alive and away from Asgore. We'll find another way to get a human soul but hers is off limits. Got it?"

Undyne's gaze studied Sans' before she quickly glanced at me and gave a slight shiver, no doubt remembering our last encounter. She gave a quick nod. "Got it. Stay away from your human." She sneered this last part before focusing her gaze back on Sans. "So, what is going on here, Sans? Why do I feel like I know your human from somewhere? I've never seen her before in my life."

"You sure about that, boss?" asked Sans as he sat back in the seat, his hold on my hand tightening as he pulled me closer against him. After Undyne's agreement to not bother me, Sans had relaxed and the pinpricks of his eye sockets had returned. His ever-present grin seemed filled with its usual humor. It seemed with the recent realizations that we had been through this over and over and I was finally showing some signs of remembering, he was being open in his affections.

I found I didn't mind.

At all.

I settled comfortably against him, soaking in the warmth that radiated off of his form, as I felt myself dazing slightly. This too felt familiar… Sitting this way with Sans beside me and Undyne across from us, Papyrus currently at the bar in what appeared to be a heated discussion with Grillby…

"We've done this before," I said, looking at Sans. "Sat here and talked… Whether Undyne and Papyrus were here or not, we always sat at this booth and talked…"

A warm chuckle escaped as Sans gave a nod. "It was never this soon but yeah… We always found ourselves here after our date…" He looked at me, the warmth in his gaze was one that I recognized from so many times before but it never registered with me what it had always been. His gaze was filled with affection, with love… "You're remembering a little more."

I felt the blush in my cheeks deepen but couldn't help the smile that lit my face in return.

He was right.

I was remembering a little bit here and there.

Little things would trigger a memory from deep within, one I had never seen before but that I recognized that feeling of déjà vu now.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Undyne as she slapped a heavy hand against the table, catching our attention from one another. "Whatcha mean we've done this before? I've never-"

"Undyne," I said, "You feel it, right? That sense that we've done this before?"

She paused and looked at me, her eyes revealing her confusion and doubt. "I…"

"That's because we have," I said, not giving her a chance to deny it. "I have, you have, _everyone_ has been stuck in this endless repeating time loop. We've been doing this chase over and over and no one remembers when it resets. No one remembers a goddamn thing but Sans." I looked at the monster next to me and let out a soft breath. "And I am too… A little…" I looked back at Undyne. "We need to get to the bottom of this. Find out what is causing these resets and make it stop. I came here to free my son. With this endless looping timeline, there is no way my son or any of the monsters can be free. We need to work together this time. I have this feeling we were friends once, good friends. I know we can be friends again… Can we?"

Undyne studied me, the air about her filled with confused sadness. "We were… friends?" She blinked and studied me a little longer, her gaze flicking over my features as if hoping that something would register. Finally, she frowned and shook her head. "I don't… I feel like I know you from somewhere but I don't remember a thing about you." Her frown deepened as she looked at Sans. "What the hell is going on around here?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," said Sans as he lounged back against his seat. He didn't look the least bit worried. "Ami and I had almost come close before she lost her memories." He glanced at me, his grin a little warmer than usual, before he glanced toward the back of the bar before looking at Undyne. "Papyrus is coming back with the food. Let's eat first and then we'll head over to Alphys'. I've got a few things to show you, Ami."

That name was new but it brought up that familiar feeling of déjà vu.

A flash of a short yellow monster with thick glasses in a white lab coat came to mind. Slowly it came, the memory of a shy little thing that was always stammering and blushing when Undyne was around… Who showed me with excitement the latest anime she was watching or the newest manga she had acquired from the junk that fell from above… Who would gush and squeal whenever I would press a kiss against the brow of the short skeleton monster beside me…

 _OMG! You guys are so romantic!_

Her voice echoed in the memory and then it was gone.

I blinked as I came back to myself and glanced down at Sans. "Alphys? Little yellow monster? Prone to stammering? Are you sure we should? I feel… I don't know… She's… uh… she's…"

Sans' loud booming laugh escaped him and I couldn't help but smile.

"I can't believe you remember her, snow angel," he said as he finally managed to calm down. "Seems she left a better imprint on you than I did. Should I be jealous?"

"What?! No!" I said, shock coloring my tone of voice.

"Hey!" Undyne's voice broke through as she slammed a heavy fist against the table, making it shudder. "What's wrong with Alphys? Don't sound so disgusted!"

I looked at the fish woman and quickly raised my free hand in an at ease gesture. I was remembering more and more as each moment passed with these monsters. I was now remembering of the unspoken attraction between the two female monsters…

"There's nothing wrong with her, she is a perfectly wonderful female. I just don't-"

"What's wrong with female monsters? Or are skeletons the only things that turn you on? Are us women monsters too beneath your human female sensibilities?!" Undyne barked out as she slammed the table again.

"What? No!" I groaned out as I quickly shook my head. Where the hell did this come from? "I'm just not into females, that's all! Human or monster! I like males! That's what I find attractive! Relax!"

Sans was of no help and was laughing his bones off the entire time.

I glared at him, damn him he did this on purpose…

"I'VE BROUGHT THE FOOD!" Papyrus had come back to the booth with a large tray of food and placed it on the table.

"Thank you Papyrus!" I said loudly as I smiled up at the tall monster, ignoring the daggers that Undyne was throwing my way and the laughter that was coming from Sans. He really did have excellent timing…


End file.
